5 definitions found
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Language \Lan"guage\, n. [OE. langage, F. langage, fr. L. lingua
the tongue, hence speech, language; akin to E. tongue. See
{Tongue}, cf. {Lingual}.]
1. Any means of conveying or communicating ideas;
specifically, human speech; the expression of ideas by the
voice; sounds, expressive of thought, articulated by the
organs of the throat and mouth.
Note: Language consists in the oral utterance of sounds which
usage has made the representatives of ideas. When two
or more persons customarily annex the same sounds to
the same ideas, the expression of these sounds by one
person communicates his ideas to another. This is the
primary sense of language, the use of which is to
communicate the thoughts of one person to another
through the organs of hearing. Articulate sounds are
represented to the eye by letters, marks, or
characters, which form words.
2. The expression of ideas by writing, or any other
instrumentality.
3. The forms of speech, or the methods of expressing ideas,
peculiar to a particular nation.
4. The characteristic mode of arranging words, peculiar to an
individual speaker or writer; manner of expression; style.
Others for language all their care express. --Pope.
5. The inarticulate sounds by which animals inferior to man
express their feelings or their wants.
6. The suggestion, by objects, actions, or conditions, of
ideas associated therewith; as, the language of flowers.
There was . . . language in their very gesture.
--Shak.
7. The vocabulary and phraseology belonging to an art or
department of knowledge; as, medical language; the
language of chemistry or theology.
8. A race, as distinguished by its speech. [R.]
All the people, the nations, and the languages, fell
down and worshiped the golden image. --Dan. iii. 7.
{Language master}, a teacher of languages. [Obs.]
Syn: Speech; tongue; idiom; dialect; phraseology; diction;
discourse; conversation; talk.
Usage: {Language}, {Speech}, {Tongue}, {Idiom}, {Dialect}.
Language is generic, denoting, in its most extended
use, any mode of conveying ideas; speech is the
language of articulate sounds; tongue is the
Anglo-Saxon tern for language, esp. for spoken
language; as, the English tongue. Idiom denotes the
forms of construction peculiar to a particular
language; dialects are varieties if expression which
spring up in different parts of a country among people
speaking substantially the same language.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Language \Lan"guage\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Languaged}; p. pr. &
vb. n. {Languaging}.]
To communicate by language; to express in language.
Others were languaged in such doubtful expressions that
they have a double sense. --Fuller.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
language
n 1: a systematic means of communicating by the use of sounds or
conventional symbols; "he taught foreign languages";
"the language introduced is standard throughout the
text"; "the speed with which a program can be executed
depends on the language in which it is written" [syn: {linguistic
communication}]
2: (language) communication by word of mouth; "his speech was
garbled"; "he uttered harsh language"; "he recorded the
spoken language of the streets" [syn: {speech}, {speech
communication}, {spoken communication}, {spoken language},
{voice communication}, {oral communication}]
3: a system of words used in a particular discipline; "legal
terminology"; "the language of sociology" [syn: {terminology},
{nomenclature}]
4: the cognitive processes involved in producing and
understanding linguistic communication; "he didn't have
the language to express his feelings" [syn: {linguistic
process}]
5: the mental faculty or power of vocal communication;
"language sets homo sapiens apart from all other animals"
[syn: {speech}]
6: the text of a popular song or musical-comedy number; "his
compositions always started with the lyrics"; "he wrote
both words and music"; "the song uses colloquial language"
[syn: {lyric}, {words}]
From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03) [foldoc]:
language
1. <language, programming> {programming language}.
2. <human language> {natural language}.
(1998-09-07)
From THE DEVIL'S DICTIONARY ((C)1911 Released April 15 1993) [devils]:
LANGUAGE, n. The music with which we charm the serpents guarding
another's treasure.