Main Entry: com·mu·ni·ca·tion
Pronunciation: \kə-ˌmyü-nə-ˈkā-shən\
Function: noun
Date: 14th century
1 : an act or instance of transmitting
2 a : information communicated b : a verbal or written message
3 a : a process by which information is exchanged between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs, or behavior <the function of pheromones in insect communication>; also : exchange of information b : personal rapport <a lack of communication between old and young persons>
4 plural a : a system (as of telephones) for communicating b : a system of routes for moving troops, supplies, and vehicles c : personnel engaged in communicating
5 plural but sing or plural in constr a : a technique for expressing ideas effectively (as in speech) b : the technology of the transmission of information (as by print or telecommunication)

 

Pronunciation: \ˈlaŋ-gwij, -wij\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French langage, from lange, langue tongue, language, from Latin lingua — more at tongue
Date: 14th century
1 a : the words, their pronunciation, and the methods of combining them used and understood by a community b (1) : audible, articulate, meaningful sound as produced by the action of the vocal organs (2) : a systematic means of communicating ideas or feelings by the use of conventionalized signs, sounds, gestures, or marks having understood meanings (3) : the suggestion by objects, actions, or conditions of associated ideas or feelings <language in their very gesture — Shakespeare> (4) : the means by which animals communicate (5) : a formal system of signs and symbols (as FORTRAN or a calculus in logic) including rules for the formation and transformation of admissible expressions (6) : machine language 1
2 a : form or manner of verbal expression; specifically : style b : the vocabulary and phraseology belonging to an art or a department of knowledge c : profanity
3 : the study of language especially as a school subject
4 : specific words especially in a law or regulation
[language table]