American Sign Language
noun
: a sign language that is used especially for communication by and with deaf people and is the formal sign language of the United States and English-speaking Canada and also serves as the basis for various sign languages in other countries (such as Thailand, Nigeria, and Bolivia) —abbreviation ASL
called also Ameslan
Note: American Sign Language was developed in Hartford, Connecticut in the early 1800s.
Word History
First Known Use
1893, in the meaning defined above