Word.ws English Dictionary

killer language

killer language noun: a dominant and prestigious language which gradually causes extinction of other, especially minor languages.

Noun

killer language (plural killer languages)

  1. A dominant and prestigious language which gradually causes extinction of other, especially minor languages.
    • It is only when the state adopts a trade language as official and, in a fit of linguistic nationalism, foists it upon its citizens, that trade languages become "killer languages."2012, Danny Hieber, Mises Daily, Why Do Languages Die?

Forms of killer language

pluralkiller languages

Origin of killer language

The phrase was first used by Anne Pakir in 1991 in reference to English.

Questions about killer language

What does killer language mean?
Killer language means a dominant and prestigious language which gradually causes extinction of other, especially minor languages.
What part of speech is killer language?
Killer language is a noun.
What is the plural of killer language?
The plural of killer language is killer languages.

Words near killer language in the dictionary

  1. killer game
  2. killer games
  3. killer green bud
  4. killer instinct
  5. killer instincts
  6. killer language
  7. killer languages
  8. killer litter
  9. killer poke
  10. killer pokes
  11. killer sudoku

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: killer language (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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