Etymologically
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bilingual

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Pronunciation

  • /baɪˈlɪŋ.ɡwəl/, /baɪˈlɪŋ.ɡju.əl/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin bilinguis (“speaking two languages; two-tongued”) with the English suffix -al added.[2][3][4][5] The Latin adjective is formed from bi- (“two”) and lingua (“tongue, language”).[2][3][5] Etymonline and Klein analyse it as from English bi- + lingual,[6][7] and Partridge says it was formed after lingual.[8] In Latin, bilinguis meant literally "two-tongued", and figuratively "speaking a jumble of languages" and "double-tongued, hypocritical".[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Speaking two languages: 1818 in Etymonline,[6] 1819 in the OED, in Thomas McCrie's Life of Andrew Melville.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The word spread in the 19th century from people to texts: from 1824 it was used of dictionaries and glossaries giving the words of one language with their equivalents in another,[2] and since 1845 of inscriptions written in parallel versions in two languages,[2] the sense Etymonline dates to 1825.[6] As a noun it meant a bilingual inscription from 1878, according to Merriam-Webster,[3] and a person who speaks two languages from 1949 in the OED.[2] In the 20th century it was extended to speakers of two forms of the same language (1955).[2][4] The noun bilingualism is recorded from 1854 in Etymonline and 1873 in the OED,[6][2] and since 1901 also of a policy that promotes two languages, as with English and French in Canada.[2] In American slang it was also used, as a pun, of a person who has oral sex with both sexes (1966).[9]

Timeline

  • 1818 – speaking two languages (Etymonline).[6]
  • 1819 – having or speaking two languages (OED).[2][3]
  • 1824 – of a dictionary, giving the equivalents of one language in another.[2]
  • 1845 – of inscriptions, written in two languages.[2]
  • 1878 – noun, a bilingual inscription.[3]
  • 1949 – noun, a person who speaks two languages.[2]
  • 1955 – speaking two forms of the same language.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Able to speak two languages, especially fluently: Their children grew up bilingual in Welsh and English.[10][4][2]
  2. Written or expressed in two languages: a bilingual road sign.[10][3][2]
  3. Of a dictionary, giving the words of one language with their equivalents in another.[2]
  4. Involving or using two languages: bilingual education.[3]

Noun

  1. A person who speaks two languages.[10][3][2]
  2. An inscription in two languages.[3][4]

Word family

  • bilingualism
  • bilingually
  • bilinguality

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  8. ^ Partridge, Eric (1966), Origins: A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, 4th ed., London: Routledge & Kegan Paul
  9. ^ Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
  10. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins