Skip to definition.
Get the FREE one-click dictionary software for Windows or the iPhone/iPad and Android apps


Noun: lingua franca  ,ling-gwu'frang-ku
  1. A common language used by speakers of different languages
    "Koine is a dialect of ancient Greek that was the lingua franca of the empire of Alexander the Great and was widely spoken throughout the eastern Mediterranean area in Roman times";
    - interlanguage, koine

Derived forms: lingua francas

Type of: language, linguistic communication

Encyclopedia: Lingua franca