lingua franca
    n 1: a common language used by speakers of different languages;
         "Koine is a dialect of ancient Greek that was the lingua
         franca of the empire of Alexander the Great and was widely
         spoken throughout the eastern Mediterranean area in Roman
         times" [syn: lingua franca, interlanguage, koine]

Lingua Franca \Lin"gua Fran"ca\ (l[i^][ng]"gw[.a]
   fr[a^][ng]"k[.a]) n. [It., prop., language of the Franks.]
   1. The commercial language of the Levant, -- a mixture of the
      languages of the people of the region and of foreign
      traders.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. Any hybrid or other language used over a wide area as a
      common or commercial tongue among peoples of different
      speech.
      [Webster 1913 Suppl.]