Word of the Day for Wednesday 5th March 2014
Lingua Franca \LING-gwuh
FRANG-kuh\, noun:
1. any language that is widely
used as a means of communication among speakers of other languages.
2. (initial capital letter) the Italian-Provençal jargon (with elements of Spanish, French, Greek, Arabic, and Turkish) formerly widely used in eastern Mediterranean ports.
2. (initial capital letter) the Italian-Provençal jargon (with elements of Spanish, French, Greek, Arabic, and Turkish) formerly widely used in eastern Mediterranean ports.
...though
Ukrainian may be the official language, Russian is the lingua franca.
Crimea may be politically part of Ukraine, but it identifies with Russia
emotionally and psychologically.
-- Cathy Newman, "After Ukraine Crisis, Why Crimea Matters," National Geographic, 2014
-- Cathy Newman, "After Ukraine Crisis, Why Crimea Matters," National Geographic, 2014
As
the guys drank up, with only Jason abstaining, the conversation skipped from
fishing to lacrosse to friends in common, the easy lingua franca of
young men from the prep-school dominion.
-- Tad Friend, "Thicker Than Water," The New Yorker, 2014
-- Tad Friend, "Thicker Than Water," The New Yorker, 2014
This
term comes from the Italian literally meaning "Frankish tongue." It's
existed in English since the 1600’s.
Thanks to: www.dictionary.com
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