BILINGUAL


Meaning of BILINGUAL in English

I. (ˈ)bī|liŋgwəl adjective

Etymology: Latin bilinguis (from bi- bi- (I) + lingua tongue) + English -al — more at tongue

1. : containing or expressed in two written languages

a bilingual inscription

a bilingual street sign

: involving the use of two languages

books printed in bilingual form

: having reference to two languages written, spoken, or manual

bilingual study

the bilingual deaf

2. : having or using two languages especially as spoken with the fluency characteristic of a native speaker

a practically bilingual control of French and English

a bilingual speaker

• bi·lin·gual·ly -gwəlē, -li adverb

II. noun

( -s )

1. : an inscription in two languages

2. : a person using two languages especially habitually and with a control like that of a native speaker

III. adjective

: of or relating to bilingual education

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.