Phrase guide

dead language

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

A language which no longer has any native speakers.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: extinct language

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

a language that is no longer learned as a native language

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: language, linguistic communication

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

42 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: لُغَة بَائِدَة — language with no native speakers
  • Arabic: لُغَة مَيِّتَة — language with no native speakers
  • Arabic: لُغَة مُنْقَرِضَة — language with no native speakers
  • Arabic: لُغَة مُنْدَثِرَة — language with no native speakers
  • Azerbaijani: ölü dil — language with no native speakers
  • Basque: hizkuntza hil — language with no native speakers
  • Catalan: llengua morta — language with no native speakers
  • Chinese Mandarin: 死語言 /死语言 (sǐyǔyán) — language with no native speakers
  • Chinese Mandarin: 死語 /死语 (sǐyǔ) — language with no native speakers
  • Chinese Mandarin: 滅絕語言 /灭绝语言 (mièjué yǔyán) — language with no native speakers
  • Dutch: dode taal — language with no native speakers
  • Esperanto: mortinta lingvo — language with no native speakers
  • Estonian: surnud keel — language with no native speakers
  • Finnish: kuollut kieli — language with no native speakers
  • French: langue morte — language with no native speakers
  • French: langue ancienne — language with no native speakers
  • Galician: lingua morta — language with no native speakers
  • Georgian: მკვდარი ენა (mḳvdari ena) — language with no native speakers
  • German: tote Sprache — language with no native speakers
  • Hungarian: holt nyelv — language with no native speakers
  • Indonesian: bahasa mati — language with no native speakers
  • Italian: lingua estinta — language with no native speakers
  • Japanese: 死語 (shigo) — language with no native speakers
  • Kannada: ಸತ್ತಭಾಷೆ (sattabhāṣe) — language with no native speakers
  • Kapampangan: meteng amanu — language with no native speakers
  • Kazakh: өлген тіл (ölgen tıl) — language with no native speakers
  • Khmer: ភាសាស្លាប់ — language with no native speakers
  • Korean: 사어 (sa'eo) — language with no native speakers
  • Lithuanian: mi̇̀rusioji kalbà — language with no native speakers
  • Lithuanian: mi̇̀rusi kalbà — language with no native speakers
  • Norwegian: dødt språk — language with no native speakers
  • Polish: język wymarły — language with no native speakers
  • Portuguese: língua morta — language with no native speakers
  • Romanian: limbă moartă — language with no native speakers
  • Russian: мёртвый язы́к (mjórtvyj jazýk) — language with no native speakers
  • Spanish: lengua muerta — language with no native speakers
  • Swedish: utdött språk — language with no native speakers
  • Tagalog: patay na wika — language with no native speakers
  • Tamil: வழக்கிழந்த மொழி (vaḻakkiḻanta moḻi) — language with no native speakers
  • Turkish: ölü dil — language with no native speakers
  • Ukrainian: мертва мова (mertva mova) — language with no native speakers
  • Vietnamese: tử ngữ — language with no native speakers