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.

Nearby words

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

SYNONYMS FOR vernacular

9, 10. See language.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR vernacular ON THESAURUS.COM

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

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

Examples from the Web for 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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
Anytime boys, even girls, use femininity as a vernacular people are judged harshly.
The Queen of Queens|Rachel Syme|March 16, 2009|DAILY BEAST
“ 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|DAILY BEAST

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|DAILY BEAST
Did she ever express to you any fear that he might do something, and I use the vernacular again, crazy?
Warren Commission (9 of 26): Hearings Vol. IX (of 15)|The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy
Profanity is indulged in to a considerable extent, and in some places seems the vernacular language.
The History of Prostitution|William W. Sanger
Much uncertainty prevails on the question when the first sermons in French vernacular were formally composed, and by whom.
The Flourishing of Romance and the Rise of Allegory|George Saintsbury
But even these remains, important and interesting as they are, may not be called the beginning of a vernacular literature.
Library Of The World's Best Literature, Ancient And Modern, Vol. 2|Charles Dudley Warner
Do you agree with the prediction that within a century English will be the vernacular of a quarter of the people of the world?
Introduction to the Science of Sociology|Robert E. Park

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

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.

vernacular

adjective

noun

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of vernacular

Examples from the Web for vernacular

vernacular

noun

adjective

Word Origin for vernacular

vernacular