Metalanguage

noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Any language or vocabulary of terms used to describe or analyze a language or linguistic process. countable, uncountable

    "In order to talk or theorise about phenomena, one inevitably uses a language that is in effect a metalanguage, a special instance of language that allows the theorist to stand back and describe what is happening."

  2. 2
    a language that can be used to describe languages wordnet
  3. 3
    Any similar language used to define a programming language countable, uncountable

Example

More examples

"In order to talk or theorise about phenomena, one inevitably uses a language that is in effect a metalanguage, a special instance of language that allows the theorist to stand back and describe what is happening."

Etymology

From meta- + language.

Related phrases

object languageprogramming language

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.