“lingua franca” is french in latin and it means english 🤔
Discussion
Depends on who’s talking.
French used to be the official diplomatic language.
Lingua franca was more like Italian with a mix of French Spanish and other words from different Mediterranean languages, all mixed by traders and sailors.
-franco/franca as adjective can be used as "free"/free of charge/duty in Latin or Italian
P.s. not saying it doesn't mean English like you said, but as Italian never heard about it