| lingua franca |
| Definition: A language that has been adopted as a common language by people who don't speak the same language. |
| Example: Medieval Latin was Europe's lingua franca during the Middle Ages. |
| Etymology:
In Italian the term means "Frankish tongue." Note: The first lingua franca was a minimalist version of Italian — mixed with Spanish, French, Turkish, Arabic, and Greek words — that was used by Levantine traders 500 years ago. Because the Arabs used to call all Europeans Franks, their language was called the Frankish tongue. |
| Oxford English Dictionary: The phrase's first OED citation is from 1678: "'Tis a kind of Lingua Franca, as I have heard the Merchants call it; a certain compound Language, made up of all Tongues, that passes through the Levant." (Dryden Limberham i. i) |