dialect

American  

[dahy-uh-lekt] / ˈdaɪ əˌlɛkt /

noun

1. Linguistics. a variety of a language that is distinguished from other varieties of the same language by features of phonology, grammar, and vocabulary, and by its use by a group of speakers who are set off from others geographically or socially.

2. a provincial, rural, or socially distinct variety of a language that differs from the standard language, especially when considered as substandard.

   Synonyms:

   patois, idiom

3. a special variety of a language.

   The literary dialect is usually taken as the standard language.

4. a language considered as one of a group that have a common ancestor.

   Persian, Latin, and English are Indo-European dialects.

5. jargon or cant.

---

dialect British  

/ ˈdaɪəˌlɛkt /

noun

1. 1. a form of a language spoken in a particular geographical area or by members of a particular social class or occupational group, distinguished by its vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation

   2. a form of a language that is considered inferior

      the farmer spoke dialect and was despised by the merchants

   3. ( as modifier )

      a dialect word

---

Related Words

See language.

Other Word Forms

• dialectal adjective
• subdialect noun

Etymology

Origin of dialect

First recorded in 1545–55; from Latin dialectus, from Greek diálektos “discourse, language, dialect,” equivalent to dialég(esthai) “to converse” ( dia- “through, between” + légein “to speak”) + -tos verbal adjective suffix; dia-

Example Sentences

The first two books have sold more than 18 million copies in 115 languages and dialects around the world.

From BBC

She whet his palate with detailed reports dissecting the southern Italian dialect spoken by his grandmother.

From The Wall Street Journal

He jumped at the chance to speak in their local dialect, joking that his north Wales family always sounded like they were "running out of breath".

From BBC

When the British arrived in 1788, we are told, the continent was home to “more than 250 language groups and over 500 dialects, each with its own unique culture, language, and kinship structure.”

From The Wall Street Journal

The distinct Bavarian dialect spoken in Munich certainly does not help in that regard.

From BBC

Related Words

• accent
• idiom
• jargon
• language
• lingo
• patois
• pronunciation
• slang
• terminology
• tongue
• vernacular
• vocabulary