Standard Lemma guide

sesquilingual

adj · 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

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • rhymes with -ɪŋɡwəl

1

adj

Meaning 1

Pertaining to one language, plus a second in a limited capacity, degree, or content.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable, rare

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Able to communicate fluently in one language, but only to a degree in another.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable, rare

Examples

  • 2004 Bill Sherk, 500 Years of New Words, Dundam, 2004, p. 187. The author of this dictionary coined the term sesquilingual in 1975 to describe people who know one language and part of another, a term that probably applies to the majority of Canadians, who know English and a smattering of French, or vice versa.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From sesqui- + lingual.

Across languages

Translations

1 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • French: sesquilingue — Translations