proto-language
/ˈpɹəʊtəʊˌlæŋɡwɪdʒ/
proto-language noun: a language which is reconstructed by examining similarities in existing languages in order to deduce the form and aspects of a common ancestor language that is no longer known.
Noun
proto-language (countable and uncountable, plural proto-languages)
- A language which is reconstructed by examining similarities in existing languages in order to deduce the form and aspects of a common ancestor language that is no longer known.
- Just as Greek and Sanskrit reflect a proto-language, so do the Cypria and the Mahābhārata reflect a proto-story.2025 December 12, Tom Hercules Davies, “Horses, Wheels, Languages: Greek, Mesopotamian and Indic Epic on the Eurasian Steppe”, in The Classical Quarterly, volume 75, number 1, page 5
- The early utterances produced by an infant before it acquires a true language.
proto-language meaning in Hindi, Indonesian and Vietnamese
proto-language in Hindi
- common ancestor language
- आदिभाषा ādibhāṣā
proto-language in Indonesian
- common ancestor language
- bahasa proto
proto-language in Vietnamese
- common ancestor language
- tiền ngôn ngữ
More languagesFewer languages
- Kashmiri
- جَد زَبان jad zabān
Synonyms of proto-language
Forms of proto-language
| plural | proto-languages |
|---|---|
| alternative form | protolanguage |
Origin of proto-language
From proto- + language.
Questions about proto-language
- What does proto-language mean?
- Proto-language means a language which is reconstructed by examining similarities in existing languages in order to deduce the form and aspects of a common ancestor language that is no longer known.
- What is proto-language in Hindi?
- Proto-language in Hindi is आदिभाषा (ādibhāṣā). See Proto-language meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is proto-language?
- Proto-language is a noun.
- How do you pronounce proto-language?
- Proto-language is pronounced /ˈpɹəʊtəʊˌlæŋɡwɪdʒ/.
- What is the plural of proto-language?
- The plural of proto-language is proto-languages.
Words near proto-language in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: proto-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.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-proto-language.wav.
Cite this entry: “proto-language.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/proto-language. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.