This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
diglossia
[ dahy-glos-ee-uh, -glaw-see-uh ]
/ daɪˈglɒs i ə, -ˈglɔ si ə /
Save This Word!
This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
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.
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.
Origin of diglossia
OTHER WORDS FROM diglossia
di·glos·sic [dahy-glos-ik], /daɪˈglɒs ɪk/, adjectiveWords nearby diglossia
digitize, digitized, digitoxin, digitron, digitule, diglossia, diglot, diglyceride, diglycolic acid, dignified, dignify
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
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