vernacular

American  

[ver-nak-yuh-ler, vuh-nak-] / vərˈnæk yə lər, vəˈnæk- /

adjective

1. (of language) native to a place (opposed to literary).

2. expressed or written in the native language of a place, as literary works.

   a vernacular poem.

3. using such a language.

   a vernacular speaker.

4. of or relating to such a language.

5. using plain, everyday, ordinary language.

6. of, relating to, or characteristic of architectural vernacular.

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

8. Obsolete. (of a disease) endemic.

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noun

1. the native speech or language of a place.

2. the language or vocabulary peculiar to a class or profession.

3. a vernacular word or expression.

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

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

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

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

vernacular British  

/ vəˈnækjʊlə /

noun

1. the commonly spoken language or dialect of a particular people or place

2. a local style of architecture, in which ordinary houses are built

   this architect has re-created a true English vernacular

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adjective

1. relating to, using, or in the vernacular

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

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

Synonym Usage

See language.

Other Word Forms

• nonvernacular
  adjective
• vernacularly
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of vernacular

First recorded in 1595–1605; from Latin vernācul(us), “household, domestic, native” (apparently adjective use of vernāculus, diminutive of verna “slave born in the master's household”; further origin uncertain) + -ar ¹

Explanation

Vernacular describes everyday language, including slang, that's used by the people. The vernacular is different from literary or official language: it's the way people really talk with each other, like how families talk at home. You know how some language is fancy and formal? Vernacular is different: think of it as how friends talk when no one is listening. Vernacular language includes slang and obscenities. One of the hardest things about writing for school is getting away from the vernacular and learning to write in more formal ways that don't come as naturally. You can also say specific groups have a vernacular, meaning the unique way people in a certain region or profession speak.

Example Sentences

“Drag Race” is the source of quite a bit of modern slang terminology, lifted from decades of African American Vernacular English, posted online, and co-opted to fit just about anything.

From Salon • May 10, 2026

Standard American English, the English spoken by newscasters, is one such dialect, as are African American Vernacular English, Creole, Appalachian English, and others.

From Textbooks • Dec. 21, 2021

Listen to the full episode of Spectacular Vernacular below.

From Slate • Aug. 31, 2021

That changed when he read “Jazz Dance: The Story of American Vernacular Dance,” Marshall and Jean Stearns’s comprehensive book on its African-American origins.

From New York Times • Aug. 10, 2018

It was while she was at the college of architecture that she met Larry McCaslin, who was in Delhi collecting material for his doctoral thesis on “Energy Efficiency in Vernacular Architecture.”

From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy

Related Words

• argot
• dialect
• idiom
• jargon
• lingo
• parlance
• patois
• slang