diglossia
[ dahy-glos-ee-uh, -glaw-see-uh ]
/ daɪˈglɒs i ə, -ˈglɔ si ə /
noun
the widespread existence within a society of sharply divergent formal and informal varieties of a language each used in different social contexts or for performing different functions, as the existence of Katharevusa and Demotic in modern Greece.
Pathology. the presence of two tongues or of a single tongue divided into two parts by a cleft.
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Origin of diglossia
OTHER WORDS FROM diglossia
di·glos·sic [dahy-glos-ik], /daɪˈglɒs ɪk/, adjectiveWords nearby diglossia
digitized, digitoxin, digitron, digitule, digitus, diglossia, diglot, diglyceride, diglycolic acid, dignified, dignify
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
British Dictionary definitions for diglossia
diglossia
/ (daɪˈɡlɒsɪə) /
noun
linguistics the existence in a language of a high, or socially prestigious, and a low, or everyday, form, as German and Swiss German in Switzerland
Word Origin for diglossia
C20: New Latin, via French, from Greek diglōssos speaking two languages: see diglot
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
Medical definitions for diglossia
diglossia
[ dī-glŏs′ē-ə ]
n.
bifid tongue
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.