Meanings
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1
noun
A system of words and grammar used by the people of a particular country or community to communicate.
English and German are both members of the same language family.
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2
noun
The human ability to communicate using words.
Language is what sets humans apart from other animals.
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3
noun
The particular words and style used in a text or by a group of people.
The contract was written in formal legal language.
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4
noun
A way of communicating meaning without spoken words.
You could read the anger in her body language.
Thesaurus
Common collocations
Etymology
From Middle English langage, language, from Old French language, from Vulgar Latin *linguāticum, from Latin lingua (“tongue, speech, language”), from Old Latin dingua (“tongue”), from Proto-Indo-European *dn̥ǵʰwéh₂s (“tongue, speech, language”). Doublet of langaj. Displaced native Old English ġeþēode.