From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (30 December 2018) :
high-level language
HLL
(HLL) A programming language which provides some level of
abstraction above assembly language. These normally use
statements consisting of English-like keywords such as "FOR",
"PRINT" or "GOTO", where each statement corresponds to several
machine language instructions. It is much easier to program
in a high-level language than in assembly language though
the efficiency of execution depends on how good the compiler
or interpreter is at optimising the program.
Rarely, the variants "{VHLL" and "{MLL}" are found.
See also languages of choice, generation.
(1994-12-07)