Etymograph

English

lingua franca

Lingua franca comes from Italian lingua franca ‘the Mediterranean Lingua Franca’.

  1. Italianc. 1300–presentlingua franca‘the Mediterranean Lingua Franca’literally ‘Frankish language’
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1988same form

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Italianc. 1300–presentlingua franca‘the Mediterranean Lingua Franca’literally ‘Frankish language’
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1988same form

Earliest quotation: 1988, Robert Jackall, Chapter 1: Moral Probations, Old and New: “Taking these cues, I rewrote and rewrote the proposal…”

The story

Borrowed from Italian lingua franca (literally “Frankish language”).

Every English word from Italian lingua franca

Today it means

noun A common language used by people of diverse backgrounds to communicate with one another, often a basic form of speech with simplified grammar, particularly, one that is not the first language of any of its speakers.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Italian lingua franca / lingua franca

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