an artificial language based as far as possible on words common to all the European languages
An international auxiliary language designed by L. L. Zamenhof with a base vocabulary inspired by Indo-European languages such as English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Russian, and having a streamlined grammar with completely regular conjugations, declensions, and inflections.
The word "esperanto" comes from the name given by its creator, L. L. Zamenhof, who originally used it as a pseudonym before the language was known as "international language." This term first appeared in print in 1892.