This article debates intercultural competence (IC) from a languacognitive viewpoint, whose chief supposition is the interface between language, cognition and culture manifested in meaning construction. The paper first underscores the centrality of language in the process of meaning construction. As a result, in the following section, it indicates a possible contribution that a cognitive-linguistic viewpoint with its focus on two intricate systems, that is, language and cognition, can bring to inquiry on IC. More specifically, since, as is claimed, intercultural competence is an abstract notion incorporating other intangible concepts, its interpretation requires a languacognitive focus. To elucidate the validity of the approach, the paper explores meaning construals of IC of the participants of the summer school DICETE. The results point out the importance of language for interpreting and evolving IC in the context of higher education.