Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

diachronic

[dahy-uh-kron-ik]
See more synonyms for diachronic on Thesaurus.com
adjective Linguistics.
  1. of or relating to the changes in a linguistic system between successive points in time; historical: diachronic analysis.
Show More
Compare synchronic.

Origin of diachronic

1925–30; < French diachronique (term introduced by F. de Saussure); see dia-, chronic
Related formsdi·a·chron·i·cal·ly, adverbdi·a·chron·ic·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for diachronic

Historical Examples

  • 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

adjective
  1. of, relating to, or studying the development of a phenomenon through time; historicaldiachronic linguistics Compare synchronic
Show More

Word Origin

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

Word Origin and History for diachronic

adj.

1857, from Greek dia "throughout" (see dia-) + khronos "time" (see chrono-). Use in linguistics dates from 1927.

Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
diachronic in Medicine

diachronic

(dī′ə-krŏn′ĭk)
adj.
  1. Of or concerned with phenomena as they change through time.
Show More
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.