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Tracing “”…
Where does the word "language" come from? It comes from Latin lingua, passing through Old French before entering English (1300s).
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Where does the word "language" come from? It comes from Latin lingua, passing through Old French before entering English (1300s).
Language’s story begins in Latin: lingua meant “tongue.” An old word for the tongue as body part and speech. By medieval, the word had taken hold in Old French as langage. 'langue' plus the suffix -age. It reached English by 1300s as language. The 'u' came from influence of Latin 'lingua'. Today, language means a system of communication used by a people.
- Stage 1 · Latin · ancient lingua "tongue", an old word for the tongue as body part and speech.
- Stage 2 · Old French · medieval langage "speech", 'langue' plus the suffix -age.
- Stage 3 · English · 1300s language "speech of a people", the 'u' came from influence of Latin 'lingua'.