Meanings
plural dead languages
- A language which no longer has any native speakers.
1 more example
Supper being over, the lawyer took his leave, and the doctor began to ſound the learned clerk reſpecting his proficiency in the dead languages. "As to dead languages," replied the ſchoolmafter, "I was once a vaſt pretty ſcholar indeed, but want of exercise has made me main ſlack—I can't get over my ground as I uſed to do. Then as to the t'other dead fellow, I could never greek it at all, that's flat. And, Lord bleſs you! my Latin is of no more uſe to me here than—than—" Here he ſtuck for want of a ſimile; when Mr. Le Dupe helped him out by ſaying, "that it is to a young man at college, where it is conſidered a pedantic inſult, and an unpardonable bore, to utter a Latin ſentence."
1799, Edward Dubois, A Piece of Family Biography, volume II, page 20Synonyms: extinct language
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA language which no longer has any native speakers.
Translations
Arabic لُغَة بَائِدَة, لُغَة مَيِّتَة
- لُغَة بَائِدَةlanguage with no native speakers
- لُغَة مَيِّتَةlanguage with no native speakers
- لُغَة مُنْقَرِضَةlanguage with no native speakers
- لُغَة مُنْدَثِرَةlanguage with no native speakers
Basque hizkuntza hil
- hizkuntza hillanguage with no native speakers
Catalan llengua morta
- llengua mortalanguage with no native speakers
Chinese Mandarin 死語言 /死语言, 死語 /死语
- 死語言 /死语言 (sǐyǔyán)language with no native speakers
- 死語 /死语 (sǐyǔ)language with no native speakers
- 滅絕語言 /灭绝语言 (mièjué yǔyán)language with no native speakers
Dutch dode taal
- dode taallanguage with no native speakers
Esperanto mortinta lingvo
- mortinta lingvolanguage with no native speakers
Estonian surnud keel
- surnud keellanguage with no native speakers
Finnish kuollut kieli
- kuollut kielilanguage with no native speakers
French langue morte, langue ancienne
- langue mortelanguage with no native speakers
- langue anciennelanguage with no native speakers
German tote Sprache
- tote Sprachelanguage with no native speakers
Hungarian holt nyelv
- holt nyelvlanguage with no native speakers
Indonesian bahasa mati
- bahasa matilanguage with no native speakers
Italian lingua estinta
- lingua estintalanguage with no native speakers
Japanese 死語
- 死語 (shigo)language with no native speakers
Korean 사어
- 사어 (sa'eo)language with no native speakers
Lithuanian mi̇̀rusioji kalbà, mi̇̀rusi kalbà
- mi̇̀rusioji kalbàlanguage with no native speakers
- mi̇̀rusi kalbàlanguage with no native speakers
Norwegian dødt språk
- dødt språklanguage with no native speakers
Polish język wymarły
- język wymarłylanguage with no native speakers
Portuguese língua morta
- língua mortalanguage with no native speakers
Romanian limbă moartă
- limbă moartălanguage with no native speakers
Russian мёртвый язы́к
- мёртвый язы́к (mjórtvyj jazýk)language with no native speakers
Spanish lengua muerta
- lengua muertalanguage with no native speakers
Swedish utdött språk
- utdött språklanguage with no native speakers
Tagalog patay na wika
- patay na wikalanguage with no native speakers
Tamil வழக்கிழந்த மொழி
- வழக்கிழந்த மொழி (vaḻakkiḻanta moḻi)language with no native speakers
Turkish ölü dil
- ölü dillanguage with no native speakers
Ukrainian мертва мова
- мертва мова (mertva mova)language with no native speakers
Vietnamese tử ngữ
- tử ngữlanguage with no native speakers
Cite this entry
dead language. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dead%20language
“dead language.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dead%20language. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “dead language,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dead%20language.
Source: dead language on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.