dialectology

American

[dahy-uh-lek-tol-uh-jee] / ˌdaɪ ə lɛkˈtɒl ə dʒi /

noun

Linguistics. the study dealing with dialects and dialect features.
the linguistic features of a dialect or of the dialects of a language.

dialectology British

/ ˌdaɪəˌlɛktəˈlɒdʒɪkəl, ˌdaɪəlɛkˈtɒlədʒɪ /

noun

the study of dialects and dialectal variations

"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

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

dialectologies

plural

Etymology

Origin of dialectology

First recorded in 1875–80; dialect + -o- + -logy

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Unto the breach steps Edward McClelland’s “How to Speak Midwestern,” a dictionary wrapped in some serious dialectology inside a gift book trailing a serious whiff of Relevance.

From New York Times • Dec. 4, 2016

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023