Langs

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Plural term for systems of human communication using speech, writing, or gestures ; abbreviated form of the word for spoken or written idioms of nations or communities
2. Used to denote multiple forms of structured communication methods specific to distinct human groups ; shortened way to refer to various vernaculars or dialects
3. Referring collectively to different speech or writing codes developed by societies ; contraction representing the plural of means of linguistic interaction

Etymology: "Langs" is simply the plural of "lang," a clipped form of "language." Its ancestry runs back through Latin "lingua," meaning tongue, which also gave English "linguistic" and "lingo." The fuller word reached English through Old French "langage," which came from Vulgar Latin "linguāticum," a derivative of "lingua" built with suffixes that turned it into a noun for speech and tongue. The clipped form "lang" is a modern shortening of "language," and "langs" follows the ordinary English plural pattern. The shortened form has its own separate history in English, since it is also the name of a different word, the northern Middle English "lang," meaning "long," which is unrelated to the tongue sense.

Synonyms: languages, tongues, dialects, vernaculars, idioms