solecism
[ sol-uh-siz-uh m, soh-luh- ]
/ ˈsɒl əˌsɪz əm, ˈsoʊ lə- /
noun
a nonstandard or ungrammatical usage, as unflammable and they was.
a breach of good manners or etiquette.
any error, impropriety, or inconsistency.
RELATED WORDS
impropriety, blunder, abuse, error, barbarism, mistake, incongruity, blooper, slip, misusage, cacology
Nearby words
- sole,
- sole custody,
- sole trader,
- sole-charge school,
- sole-source,
- solely,
- solemn,
- solemn high mass,
- solemn league and covenant,
- solemn mass
Origin of solecism
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for solecism
solecism
/ (ˈsɒlɪˌsɪzəm) /
noun
- the nonstandard use of a grammatical construction
- any mistake, incongruity, or absurdity
a violation of good manners
Word Origin for solecism
C16: from Latin soloecismus, from Greek soloikismos, from soloikos speaking incorrectly, from Soloi an Athenian colony of Cilicia where the inhabitants spoke a corrupt form of Greek
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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solecism
"gross grammatical error;" loosely "any absurdity or incongruity," 1570s, from Middle French solécisme (16c.), from Latin soloecismus "mistake in speaking or writing," from Greek soloikismos "to speak (Greek) incorrectly," from soloikos "ungrammatical utterance," properly "a speaking like the people of Soloi," an Athenian colony in Cilicia (modern Mezitli in Turkey), whose dialect the Athenians considered barbarous. Related: Solecistic.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper