first language

1. 1.

   one's native language; the language learned by children and passed from one generation to the next

   Synonymsmother tonguematernal language

   Broadernatural language

Questions about first language

What does first language mean?

first language means "one's native language; the language learned by children and passed from one generation to the next".

What is another word for first language?

Close synonyms include mother tongue, maternal language. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.