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metalanguage

American

[met-uh-lang-gwij] / ˈmɛt əˌlæŋ gwɪdʒ /

noun

any language or symbolic system used to discuss, describe, or analyze another language or symbolic system.

metalanguage British

/ ˈmɛtəˌlæŋɡwɪdʒ /

noun

a language or system of symbols used to discuss another language or system See also formal language natural language Compare object language

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of metalanguage

First recorded in 1935–40; meta- + language

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

All of these, especially Perry’s “circuit” plays have provoked contentious debates among black people about access, representation, caricature, which are all big parts of the metalanguage of Mr. Jackson’s play.

From New York Times • Aug. 7, 2019

Then, about the fact that the wise man just gives an "example", and that the example becomes a commandment: that opens a debate on the notion of exemplarity and metalanguage in literature.

From The Guardian • May 22, 2013

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023