language

Meanings

1. A system of words and rules used by people to communicate.
2. The words and style a person uses.

Example sentences

• "She speaks three languages."

  Level A2, Meaning 1

• "English is my second language."

  Level A2, Meaning 1

• "The report is written in simple language."

  Level B1, Meaning 2

• "Learning a new language takes time and practice."

  Level A2, Meaning 1

Synonyms and antonyms

Look-alikes and common mistakes

• dialect : A dialect is a form of a language used in one region or group, with its own words and sounds.

Word family and forms

Forms: languages

Word partners

Words and phrases that often go with "language".

• foreign language
• second language
• native language
• learn a language
• spoken language
• body language

Idioms and phrases

body language

What your face and body show without words.

"His body language showed that he was nervous."

speak the same language

To understand each other well because you think alike.

"We speak the same language when it comes to music."

Origin

Language comes from Old French langage and goes back to Latin lingua, which meant tongue or speech. The word is still tied to the tongue, which is why some languages are called "mother tongues".

Checked against: Wiktionary, the free dictionary, Merriam-Webster Dictionary, Dictionary.com.

How to remember it

Language has a "gu" in the middle: l-a-n-g-u-a-g-e. Say "lang-gwidj" slowly and spell it in two parts, lan and guage.

Test yourself

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