idiolect

[ id-ee-uh-lekt ]

nounLinguistics.

a person's individual speech pattern.: Compare dialect (def. 1).

Origin of idiolect

First recorded in 1945–50; idio- + -lect, as in dialect

Words Nearby idiolect

idiodynamics
idioglossia
idiogram
idiograph
idiographic
idiolect
idiom
idiomatic
idiomorphic
-idion
idiopathic

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

British Dictionary definitions for idiolect

idiolect

/ (ˈɪdɪəˌlɛkt) /

noun

the variety or form of a language used by an individual

Derived forms of idiolect

idiolectal or idiolectic, adjective

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

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