bilingualadj.n.
/bʌɪˈlɪŋɡwəl/ A. adj.
1.
a. Having, characterized by, or speaking two languages.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > a language > using or speaking languages > [adjective] > bilingual
bilinguous1730
bilinguar1839
duoglot1850
bilingual1862
diglot1863
diglottic1863
utraquist1867
biglot1868
ambilingual1870
1862 D. T. Ansted & R. G. Latham Channel Islands iv. xxiii. 543 A constitution of bilingual islands.
1873 J. Earle Philol. Eng. Tongue (ed. 2) Introd. 22 Cock-boat is probably a bilingual compound.
b. In extended use: speaking two forms of the same language.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > a language > using or speaking languages > [adjective] > bilingual > speaking two forms of the same language
bilingual1955
diglossic1959
1955 T. H. Pear Eng. Social Differences iii. 97 In London, many waitresses and shop assistants are bi-lingual.
1961 E. Partridge Dict. Slang (ed. 5) II. 997/2 He's bilingual—speaks both English and American.
2. spec. Of inscriptions, etc.: Written or inscribed simultaneously in parallel versions in two different languages. Also quasi-n.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > writing > written text > an inscription > [adjective] > inscribed simultaneously in two languages
bilingual1845
1845 Proc. Philol. Soc. 1 193 The bilingual inscriptions furnish the meanings of a certain number of Lycian words.
1847 G. Grote Hist. Greece IV. ii. xxxiv. 352 The inscriptions were bilingual, in Assyrian characters as well as Greek.
1869 J. D. Baldwin Pre-hist. Nations (1877) viii. 340 The bilingual stone of Thugga.
1881 Athenæum 1 Oct. 433/3 Our bilinguals are as yet scanty.
B. n.
A person who can speak two languages.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > a language > using or speaking languages > [noun] > bilingualism > bilingual person
bilinguist1884
bilingualist1927
bilingual1949
ambilingual1965
1949 Archivum Linguisticum 1 155 ‘Foreign accent’ in the speech of bilinguals.
1959 J. C. Catford in R. Quirk & A. H. Smith Teaching of Eng. vi. 164 The teaching of English or of any language as a foreign language may be described as a process of creating bilinguals.
Derivatives
biˈlingually adv. in two languages.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > a language > using or speaking languages > [adverb] > in two languages
bilingually1873
1873 J. Earle Philol. Eng. Tongue (ed. 2) Introd. 85 Not an unfrequent thing in Chaucer for a line to contain a single fact bilingually repeated.
biˈlinguar adj. = bilingual adj. and n.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > a language > using or speaking languages > [adjective] > bilingual
bilinguous1730
bilinguar1839
duoglot1850
bilingual1862
diglot1863
diglottic1863
utraquist1867
biglot1868
ambilingual1870
1839 Fraser's Mag. 20 202 The bilinguar monument of Rosetta.
biˈlinguist n. one who speaks two languages.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > a language > using or speaking languages > [noun] > bilingualism > bilingual person
bilinguist1884
bilingualist1927
bilingual1949
ambilingual1965
1884 Pall Mall Gaz. 4 Jan. 3/1 A genuine bilinguist is as rare a prodigy as a two-headed calf.
biˈlinguous adj. = bilingual adj. and n.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > a language > using or speaking languages > [adjective] > bilingual
bilinguous1730
bilinguar1839
duoglot1850
bilingual1862
diglot1863
diglottic1863
utraquist1867
biglot1868
ambilingual1870
1730 N. Bailey et al. Dictionarium Britannicum Bilinguous; (whence also in mod. Dicts.).
Draft additions April 2010
Of a dictionary, glossary, etc.: that lists words (and phrases, etc.) from one language and gives their equivalents in another.
ΚΠ
1824 Crit. Res. in Philol. & Geogr. 165 A reversed vocabulary is an indispensable appendage to every bilingual dictionary.
1848 S. W. Williams Middle Kingdom II. xviii. 252 The liturgy is in the language of Fan or Sanscrit, with which the majority are unacquainted, nor have they many bilingual glossaries or dictionaries to explain the words.
1933 French Rev. 6 (front matter) Heath's new French and English Dictionary comes nearer to the ideal of what a handy bilingual dictionary should be than any other dictionary of similar scope.
2009 M. C. Cormier in A. P. Cowie Oxf. Hist. Eng. Lexicogr. I. iv. 78 This dictionary..was the first bilingual Spanish–English dictionary published in Spain.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1887; most recently modified version published online March 2021).
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adj.n.1730