idiom

[ id-ee-uhm ]

noun

1. an expression whose meaning is not predictable from the usual meanings of its constituent elements, as kick the bucket or hang one's head, or from the general grammatical rules of a language, as the table round for the round table, and that is not a constituent of a larger expression of like characteristics.
2. a language, dialect, or style of speaking peculiar to a people.
3. a construction or expression of one language whose parts correspond to elements in another language but whose total structure or meaning is not matched in the same way in the second language.
4. the peculiar character or genius of a language.
5. a distinct style or character, in music, art, etc.:

   the idiom of Bach.

idiom

/ ˈɪdɪəm; ˌɪdɪəˈmætɪk /

noun

1. a group of words whose meaning cannot be predicted from the meanings of the constituent words, as for example ( It was raining ) cats and dogs
2. linguistic usage that is grammatical and natural to native speakers of a language
3. the characteristic vocabulary or usage of a specific human group or subject
4. the characteristic artistic style of an individual, school, period, etc

idiom

1. A traditional way of saying something. Often an idiom, such as “under the weather,” does not seem to make sense if taken literally. Someone unfamiliar with English idioms would probably not understand that to be “under the weather” is to be sick. ( See examples under “Idioms.” )

Derived Forms

• ˌidioˈmaticalness, noun
• ˌidioˈmatically, adverb
• idiomatic, adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of idiom¹

First recorded in 1565–75; from Latin idiōma, from Greek idíōma “peculiarity, specific property,” equivalent to idiō- (variant stem of idioûsthai “to make one's own, appropriate,” verbal derivative of idiós; idio- ) + -ma noun suffix of result

Word History and Origins

Origin of idiom¹

C16: from Latin idiōma peculiarity of language, from Greek; see idio-

Synonym Study

See phrase.

Example Sentences

Later she observed that one of the most skilled in this idiom was the journalist Dorothy Parker.

From The Daily Beast

Are some jobs, to use the standard idiom, “inherently governmental?”

From The Daily Beast

Is ‘idiom’ enough to defend to the modern reader sentences like this?

From The Daily Beast

Additionally impressive is that an Australian can write so convincingly in the idiom of a country so different from her own.

From The Daily Beast

Yet he seemed interested only in recasting GOP concepts in his own idiom.

From The Daily Beast

His musical idiom was growing richer, and music had become to him what poetry had been at Votinsk.

From Project Gutenberg

Lange thinks these lines corrupt; but I believe the idiom is correct.

From Project Gutenberg

For the hospitality of England can scarcely be translated with full flavor into any other idiom.

From Project Gutenberg

The occasional use of the imperfect is almost his only Gaelic idiom.

From Project Gutenberg

Accent, idiom, vocabulary give a new turn to the ancient speech.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• dialect
• jargon
• locution
• parlance
• patois
• phrase
• vernacular