Dictionary.com

diachronic

[ dahy-uh-kron-ik ]
/ ˌdaɪ əˈkrɒn ɪk /
Save This Word!
adjective Linguistics.
of or relating to the changes in a linguistic system between successive points in time; historical: diachronic analysis.

COMPARE MEANINGS

Click for a side-by-side comparison of meanings. Use the word comparison feature to learn the differences between similar and commonly confused words.
QUIZ
WILL YOU SAIL OR STUMBLE ON THESE GRAMMAR QUESTIONS?
Smoothly step over to these common grammar mistakes that trip many people up. Good luck!
Question 1 of 7
Fill in the blank: I can’t figure out _____ gave me this gift.
who
whom
TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT
Compare synchronic.

Origin of diachronic

1925–30; <French diachronique (term introduced by F. de Saussure); see dia-, chronic

OTHER WORDS FROM diachronic

di·a·chron·i·cal·ly, adverbdi·a·chron·ic·ness, noun

Words nearby diachronic

diacaustic, diacetic acid, diacetone alcohol, diacetyl, diacetylmorphine, diachronic, diachronic linguistics, diachronism, diachrony, diachylon, diacid
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use diachronic in a sentence

  • Now, again I repeat, there is no imaginable difference to sense between the prochronic and the diachronic development.

    Omphalos|Philip Henry Gosse

  • The two creations,—the extinct and the extant,—or rather the prochronic and the diachronic—here unite.

    Omphalos|Philip Henry Gosse

British Dictionary definitions for diachronic

diachronic
/ (ˌdaɪəˈkrɒnɪk) /
adjective
of, relating to, or studying the development of a phenomenon through time; historicaldiachronic linguistics Compare synchronic

Word Origin for diachronic

C19: from dia- + Greek khronos time
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
FEEDBACK