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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

bilingual en · ADJ

Pronunciation

  • /baɪˈlɪŋ.ɡju.əl/
  • (Southern-England) audio
  • /baɪˈlɪŋ.ɡwəl/

Etymology

From Latin bilinguis + -al; equivalent to bi- + lingual.

Meanings

  1. (not-comparable) Having the ability to speak two languages fluently.
    • He thinks it's chic to have a bilingual wife. 1980, Paul Schrader, American Gigolo, spoken by Michelle (Lauren Hutton):
    • Since she is bilingual she has them written in both English and Spanish. 1998, Bruce Fife, The Birthday Party Business, →ISBN, page 176:
    • Instead of nonnative speakers, we should be called bilingual or multilingual speakers. 2021 December 18, Ching Ching Tan, “Spielberg’s West Side Story shows us the value of multilingualism”, in CNN:
  2. (not-comparable) Spoken or written in two different languages.
    • All signage in and around the station is bilingual in Welsh and English, while station announcements and passenger information screens provide real-time information. 2020 December 30, Paul Stephen, “Chirk station is truly blooming”, in Rail, page 48:
    • a bilingual dictionary
  3. (not-comparable) Characterized by the use or presence of two languages.
    • bilingual education
    • Ocasio-Cortez’s trolling went bilingual in November when a Fox News show, “The Story,” had a prime-time discussion about Ocasio-Cortez’s shoes, including an acknowledgment that the network spent a lot of time talking about a woman who had not even been sworn into Congress yet. 2018 December 12, Cleve R. Wootson Jr., “Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s new favorite pastime appears to be trolling conservative critics”, in The Washington Post, archived from the original on 13 Dec 2018:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
bi-lingual alternative, rare lexicographic

Deriveds

bilingual dictionary · nonbilingual · bilinguality · bilingualism · bilingualness · bilingualize · bilingually

Descendants

bilingwalny · バイリンガル

Hypernyms

multilingual · multilingual · multilingual

Relateds

biscriptal · biliterate · sesquilingual

Synonyms

two-tongued · diglot · two-tongued

Translations (136)

mi reorua (written in two languages) · aii ܬܪܲܝܵܢܵܝܲܬ ܠܸܫܵܢܹ̈ܐ (speaking two languages) · ka ორენოვანი (speaking two languages) · nn bilingv (speaking two languages) · dsb dwójorěcny (speaking two languages) · eo dulingva (written in two languages) · ast billingüe (speaking two languages) · af tweetalig (speaking two languages) · sv tvåspråkig (speaking two languages) · gd dà-chànanach (written in two languages) · ia bilingue (written in two languages) · be двухмо́ўны (speaking two languages) · da tosproget (written in two languages) · be дзвюхмо́ўны (speaking two languages) · az ikidilli (written in two languages) · is tvítyngdur (speaking two languages) · de zweisprachig (speaking two languages) · bn দ্বিভাষিক (speaking two languages) · hy երկլեզու (speaking two languages) · fa دوزبانه (written in two languages) · ga dátheangach (speaking two languages) · fa دوزبانه (speaking two languages) · bg двуезичен (written in two languages) · sh dvojèzičan (speaking two languages) · pt bilíngue (speaking two languages) · da tosproget (speaking two languages) · ar ثُنَائِي اَللُّغَة (speaking two languages) · ro bilingv (written in two languages) · ms dwibahasa (written in two languages) · nv saad naaki yidiitsʼaʼ (speaking two languages) · nb bilingval (speaking two languages) · th สองภาษา (written in two languages) · ast billingüe (written in two languages) · cs dvojjazyčný (speaking two languages) · az ikidilli (speaking two languages) · cs dvojjazyčný (written in two languages) · sq dygjuhësh (speaking two languages) · ro bilingv (speaking two languages) · sh би̏лингва̄лан (speaking two languages) · aii ܬܪܲܝܵܢܵܝ ܠܸܫܵܢܹ̈ܐ (speaking two languages) · pt bilingue (written in two languages) · ru двуязы́чный (written in two languages) · vi song ngữ (speaking two languages) · cy dwyieithog (written in two languages) · bn দ্বিভাষিক (written in two languages) · hu kétnyelvű (speaking two languages) · is tveggja mála (written in two languages) · sh dvojèzičan (written in two languages) · da tvesproget (speaking two languages) · pl dwujęzyczny (speaking two languages) · nb bilingv (speaking two languages) · et kakskeelne (written in two languages) · de zweisprachig (written in two languages) · uk двомо́вний (speaking two languages) · gv daa-hengagh (written in two languages) · nl tweetalig (written in two languages) · ru двуязы́чный (speaking two languages) · io bilingua (written in two languages) · km ឧភយពាក្យ (speaking two languages) · ja バイリンガルの (speaking two languages) · gd dà-theangach (written in two languages) · nn tospråkleg (speaking two languages) · hu kétnyelvű (written in two languages) · sk dvojjazyčný (speaking two languages) · hi द्विभाषी (written in two languages) · ps دوه ژبی (speaking two languages) · hi द्विभाषी (speaking two languages) · he דו־לשוני (speaking two languages) · fr bilingue (speaking two languages) · eu elebidun (speaking two languages) · is tvímála (written in two languages) · eu elebidun (written in two languages) · th สองภาษา (speaking two languages) · de bilingual (speaking two languages) · yi צוויישפּראַכיק (speaking two languages) · aii ܬܪܲܝܵܢܲܬ ܠܸܫܵܢܹ̈ܐ (written in two languages) · mi reorua (speaking two languages) · sh bȉlingvālan (speaking two languages) · sh двојѐзичан (speaking two languages) · el δίγλωσσος (written in two languages) · cmn 雙語 /双语 (speaking two languages) · hsb bilingualny (speaking two languages) · hsb dwojorěčny (speaking two languages) · io bilingua (speaking two languages) · br divyezhek (speaking two languages) · es bilingüe (speaking two languages) · hu bilingvis (speaking two languages) · dsb dwójorěcnje (speaking two languages) · ka ბილინგვური (written in two languages) · ps دوه ژبی (written in two languages) · da tvesproget (written in two languages) · et kakskeelne (speaking two languages) · fi kaksikielinen (written in two languages) · ka ორენოვანი (written in two languages) · gd dà-theangach (speaking two languages) · bo སྐད་གཉིས་སྨྲ་བ། (speaking two languages) · es bilingüe (written in two languages) · ca bilingüe (written in two languages) · gl bilingüe (written in two languages) · ca bilingüe (speaking two languages) · ia bilingue (speaking two languages) · nl tweetalig (speaking two languages) · gv daa-hengagh (speaking two languages) · ar ثُنَائِي اَللُّغَة (written in two languages) · it bilingue (written in two languages) · pl bilingwalny (speaking two languages) · aii ܬܪܲܝܵܢܵܝ ܠܸܫܵܢܹ̈ܐ (written in two languages) · el δίγλωσσος (speaking two languages) · pt bilíngue (written in two languages) · it bilingue (speaking two languages) · yi צוויישפּראַכיק (written in two languages) · gd dà-chànanach (speaking two languages) · mk двоја́зичен (written in two languages) · br divyezhek (written in two languages) · fi kaksikielinen (speaking two languages) · ka ორენიანი (speaking two languages) · ga dátheangach (written in two languages) · vi song ngữ (written in two languages) · bg двуезичен (speaking two languages) · nb tospråklig (speaking two languages) · eo dulingva (speaking two languages) · tl dalwika (speaking two languages) · sh двојѐзичан (written in two languages) · nn bilingval (speaking two languages) · tl dalwika (written in two languages) · gl bilingüe (speaking two languages) · cy dwyieithog (speaking two languages) · hy երկլեզու (written in two languages) · mk двоја́зичен (speaking two languages) · pt bilingue (speaking two languages) · km ពីរភាសា (speaking two languages) · cs bilingvní (speaking two languages) · la bilinguis (speaking two languages) · pl dwujęzyczny (written in two languages) · hsb dwurěčny (speaking two languages) · cmn 雙語 /双语 (written in two languages)

bilingual en · NOUN

Pronunciation

  • /baɪˈlɪŋ.ɡju.əl/
  • (Southern-England) audio
  • /baɪˈlɪŋ.ɡwəl/

Etymology

From Latin bilinguis + -al; equivalent to bi- + lingual.

Meanings

  1. A person who is able to use two languages.
    • Most striking, numerous studies have even shown that bilinguals undergo a later onset of dementia, perhaps of around four years, on average. But some of these studies have failed to replicate, leaving experts wondering whether the effect is real, and if so, what exactly it consists of. 2025 June 27, “Is being bilingual good for your brain?”, in The Economist, →ISSN, archived from the original on 27 Jun 2025:
    • Imagine that you had to figure out the lexicon and grammar of a language that you did not know. How would you go about trying to figure out the structure of that language? It would be enormously helpful to have a bilingual speaker of your language and the new language: With a bilingual, you can agree on rough translations of morphemes and words (although their usages would be potentially different between the languages, and even across speakers). 2025, Edward A. F. Gibson, “Introduction” (chapter 1), in Syntax: A Cognitive Approach, MIT Press, →DOI, →ISBN, page 13:
  2. An inscription that includes the same text in two languages.

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
bilinguals Number=Plur lexicographic
bi-lingual alternative, rare lexicographic

Translations (20)

eu elebidun (a person who is bilingual) · es bilingüe (a person who is bilingual) · eo dulingvano (a person who is bilingual) · fi kaksikielinen (a person who is bilingual) · pl bilingwista (a person who is bilingual) · gv daa-hengagh (a person who is bilingual) · ro bilingvă (a person who is bilingual) · ko 두 개(個) 국어(國語)를 말하는 사람 (a person who is bilingual) · pt bilíngue (a person who is bilingual) · ro bilingv (a person who is bilingual) · eo dulingvulo (a person who is bilingual) · pl dwujęzykowiec (a person who is bilingual) · ja 二言語に通じた人 (a person who is bilingual) · nl tweetalige (a person who is bilingual) · ru билингв (a person who is bilingual) · pt diglota (a person who is bilingual) · hu kétnyelvű (a person who is bilingual) · ca bilingüe (a person who is bilingual) · cmn 會雙語的人 /会双语的人 (a person who is bilingual) · gl bilingüe (a person who is bilingual)