vernacular

[ver-nak-yuh-ler, vuh-nak-]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR vernacular ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

(of language) native or indigenous (opposed to literary or learned).

expressed or written in the native language of a place, as literary works: a vernacular poem.

using such a language: a vernacular speaker.

of or relating to such a language.

using plain, everyday, ordinary language.

of, relating to, or characteristic of architectural vernacular.

noting or pertaining to the common name for a plant or animal.

Obsolete. (of a disease) endemic.

noun

the native speech or language of a place.

the language or vocabulary peculiar to a class or profession.

a vernacular word or expression.

the plain variety of language in everyday use by ordinary people.

the common name of an animal or plant as distinguished from its Latin scientific name.

a style of architecture exemplifying the commonest techniques, decorative features, and materials of a particular historical period, region, or group of people.

any medium or mode of expression that reflects popular taste or indigenous styles.

Origin of vernacular

1595–1605; < Latin vernācul(us) household, domestic, native (apparently adj. use of vernāculus, diminutive of verna slave born in the master's household, though derivation unclear) + -ar¹

Related formsver·nac·u·lar·ly, adverbnon·ver·nac·u·lar, adjective

Synonyms for vernacular

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR vernacular ON THESAURUS.COM

9, 10. See language.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for vernacular

vulgar, indigenous, patois, dialect, argot, idiom, slang, parlance, jargon, lingo, local, ordinary, natural, common, language, patter, cant, speech, tongue, phraseology

Examples from the Web for vernacular

Contemporary Examples of vernacular

And every word has a definition, even if the phrase is viewed as one way in the vernacular.
MH370: How Do Insurers Put a Price on Life?
Daniel Gross
March 26, 2014
It was amusing, it was in my vernacular, and the atmosphere held great emotional resonance for me.
Woody Allen's Favorite Books
FiveBooks
May 6, 2011
Anytime boys, even girls, use femininity as a vernacular people are judged harshly.
The Queen of Queens
Rachel Syme
March 16, 2009
“ Larging it,” is the term of art, just one of the pieces of Brit-lad vernacular that animates these pages.
The Sound of Violence
Taylor Antrim
February 17, 2009
Note as well their wily use of the word "stuff"—a bit of vernacular so the message doesn't get too grandiloquent.
De Beers: Diamonds Are a Recession's Best Friend
Adam Hanft
December 6, 2008

Historical Examples of vernacular

"'It is not the custom,'" wearily quoted Kingozi in the vernacular.
The Leopard Woman
Stewart Edward White
The jokes are in the vernacular, but in a vernacular as spoken in a certain social medium.
The American Mind
Bliss Perry
He was, if you will pardon the vernacular, on the outside, looking in.
The Crevice
William John Burns and Isabel Ostrander
This court is overrun with Jesuits, and we must needs adopt their vernacular.
Secret Memoirs: The Story of Louise, Crown Princess
Henry W. Fischer
She said this in the tone of one consciously assuming the vernacular.
They of the High Trails
Hamlin Garland

British Dictionary definitions for vernacular

vernacular

noun

the vernacular the commonly spoken language or dialect of a particular people or place

a local style of architecture, in which ordinary houses are builtthis architect has re-created a true English vernacular

adjective

relating to, using, or in the vernacular

designating or relating to the common name of an animal or plant

built in the local style of ordinary houses, rather than a grand architectural style

Derived Formsvernacularly, adverb

Word Origin for vernacular

C17: from Latin vernāculus belonging to a household slave, from verna household slave

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

Word Origin and History for vernacular

adj.

c.1600, "native to a country," from Latin vernaculus "domestic, native," from verna "home-born slave, native," a word of Etruscan origin. Used in English in the sense of Latin vernacula vocabula, in reference to language.