language

Plurallanguages

1. 1
   like Englishnouncountable

   A body of words, together with the rules for combining them, shared by a community and used to communicate.

   Each language has its own rules for forming sentences.

   Many endangered languages have fewer than a thousand speakers.

   Similartongue

2. 2
   wordingnoununcountable

   The particular words chosen in a speech or piece of writing, and the manner or style of expression they create.

   The report's language was vague and full of jargon.

   Critics praised the vivid language throughout the novel.

   UsageOften with an adjective: plain language, vague language.

   Similarwording, phrasing, phraseology, diction, style

3. 3
   programmingnouncountable

   A formal system of commands and syntax used to program a computer.

   The team chose a functional language for the new project.

   Older systems were programmed in low-level languages close to the hardware.

   Note

   Computing treats it as an ordinary countable noun, and the field is full of comparisons between languages. Kent D. Lee's Foundations of Programming Languages (2015) notes that some languages call pointers references, to set them apart from the pointers of C and C++. The range runs from low-level languages that map closely onto hardware to high-level ones that are compiled or interpreted into machine instructions. Source

   Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 4 facts

   • Kent D. Lee wrote Foundations of Programming Languages, first published in 2015. link.springer.com
   • Lee's book says that some languages call pointers references to distinguish them from C and C++ pointers. en.wiktionary.org
   • Low-level languages map closely onto hardware. iitk.ac.in
   • High-level programs are compiled or interpreted into machine instructions for execution. openstax.org
4. 4
   power of speechnoununcountable

   The capacity to communicate by means of words.

   The development of language in early childhood fascinates researchers.

   Damage to certain parts of the brain can impair language permanently.

   Similarspeech

   Note

   Writers reach for it when words fail them. Julius Griffiths, writing in 1805, found it "wholly out of the power of language" to describe finding water after forty-eight hours in an Arabian desert. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • The passage is attributed to Julius Griffiths and was published in 1805. en.wiktionary.org
   • The quoted wording is accurate. en.wiktionary.org
   • Griffiths describes obtaining water after approximately forty-eight hours almost without it in an Arabian desert. en.wiktionary.org
5. 5
   meaning without wordsnounfigurativelycountable or uncountable

   The communication of meaning in a specified way; anything that conveys a message the way words do.

   Architects speak of the language of light and shadow in a building.

   Dance became her language when words failed her.

6. 6
   bad wordsnouneuphemisticuncountable

   Profane or offensive words, especially swearing or cursing.

   The referee penalized him for foul language during the match.

   She apologized for her language after the argument.

   UsageCommon in bad language, foul language, watch your language.

   Similarprofanity, swearing, cursing

   Note

   A euphemism that works by leaving the bad words out. In James Carroll's Mortal Friends (1978), "You shouldn't use language" means swearing, although no swear word is named. Context alone tells the listener which kind of language is meant. Said on its own as a warning, it becomes the scolding interjection. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • James Carroll wrote Mortal Friends, published in 1978. jamescarroll.net
   • The novel contains the exact warning quoted; language refers to swearing without naming a swear word in that warning. en.wiktionary.org
7. 7
   special termsnoununcountable

   The slang of a particular community, or the jargon of a specialist field.

   Legal language can be impenetrable to those outside the profession.

   Every trade develops a language of its own over time.

   UsageThe group goes first or after of: legal language, the language of chemistry.

   Similarjargon, terminology, vocabulary, parlance, idiom

   Note

   Walter Besant's lawyer drafts his instructions in a shorthand that only his clerks can follow. Stephen Fry, in The Liar (1991), treats 1920s schoolboy slang the same way, as a new language that could be due for a revival. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • Walter Besant depicts a lawyer whose abbreviated handwriting can be understood only by his own clerks. gutenberg.org
   • Stephen Fry wrote The Liar, first published in 1991. cdn.penguin.co.uk

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