dialect

di·a·lect

(dī′ə-lĕkt′)

a. A regional or social variety of a language distinguished by pronunciation, grammar, or vocabulary, especially a variety of speech differing from the standard literary language or speech pattern of the culture in which it exists: Cockney is a dialect of English.

b. A variety of language that with other varieties constitutes a single language of which no single variety is standard: the dialects of Ancient Greek.

2. The language peculiar to the members of a group, especially in an occupation; jargon: the dialect of science.

3. The manner or style of expressing oneself in language or the arts.

4. A language considered as part of a larger family of languages or a linguistic branch. Not in scientific use: Spanish and French are Romance dialects.

[French dialecte, from Old French, from Latin dialectus, form of speech, from Greek dialektos, speech, from dialegesthai, to discourse, use a dialect : dia-, between, over; see dia- + legesthai, middle voice of legein, to speak; see leg- in Indo-European roots.]

di′a·lec′tal adj.

di′a·lec′tal·ly adv.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

dialect

(ˈdaɪəˌlɛkt)

(Linguistics)

a. a form of a language spoken in a particular geographical area or by members of a particular social class or occupational group, distinguished by its vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation

b. a form of a language that is considered inferior: the farmer spoke dialect and was despised by the merchants.

c. (as modifier): a dialect word.

[C16: from Latin dialectus, from Greek dialektos speech, dialect, discourse, from dialegesthai to converse, from legein to talk, speak]

ˌdiaˈlectal adj

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

di•a•lect

(ˈdaɪ əˌlɛkt)

1. a variety of a language distinguished from other varieties by features of phonology, grammar, and vocabulary and by its use by a group of speakers set off from others geographically or socially.

2. a provincial, rural, or socially distinct variety of a language that differs from the standard language.

3. any special variety of a language: the literary dialect.

4. a language considered as one of a group that have a common ancestor: Persian, Latin, and English are Indo-European dialects.

[1545–55; < Latin dialectus < Greek diálektos discourse, language, dialect, n. derivative of dialégesthai to converse (dia- dia- + légein to speak)]

dialect

a variety of a language peculiar to a particular region or group within a larger community, usually but not always existing in the spoken form only. — dialectal, adj.

dialect

1. A form of a language used in a particular region or by a particular group of people.

2. Any of several versions of BASIC using slightly different commands.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

dialect - the usage or vocabulary that is characteristic of a specific group of people; "the immigrants spoke an odd dialect of English"; "he has a strong German accent"; "it has been said that a language is a dialect with an army and navy"

non-standard speech - speech that differs from the usual accepted, easily recognizable speech of native adult members of a speech community

eye dialect - the use of misspellings to identify a colloquial or uneducated speaker

patois - a regional dialect of a language (especially French); usually considered substandard

spang, bang - leap, jerk, bang; "Bullets spanged into the trees"

forrad, forrard, forward, forwards, frontward, frontwards - at or to or toward the front; "he faced forward"; "step forward"; "she practiced sewing backward as well as frontward on her new sewing machine"; (`forrad' and `forrard' are dialectal variations)

dialect

noun language, speech, tongue, jargon, idiom, vernacular, brogue, lingo (informal), patois, provincialism, localism the number of Italians who speak only local dialect

Quotations
"Dialect words - those terrible marks of the beast to the truly genteel" [Thomas Hardy The Mayor of Casterbridge]

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

dialect

noun

1. A variety of a language that differs from the standard form:

2. A system of terms used by a people sharing a history and culture:

3. Specialized expressions indigenous to a particular field, subject, trade, or subculture:

argot, cant, idiom, jargon, language, lexicon, lingo, patois, terminology, vernacular, vocabulary.

Translations

لهجةلَهْجَةلَهْجَه، لُغَه مَحَلِّيَّه

диалект

dialecte

nářečí

dialekt

لحجه

murrealuemurre

narječjedijalekt

nyelvjárástájszólás

dialek

mállýskamállÿska

方言

방언사투리

dialectosdialectus

dialektastarmė

dialektsizloksne

nárečie

narečje

dialekt

ภาษาท้องถิ่น

tiếng địa phương

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

dialect

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

dialect

(ˈdaiəlekt) noun

a way of speaking found only in a certain area or among a certain group or class of people. They were speaking in dialect.

dialect

→ لَهْجَة nářečí dialekt Dialekt διάλεκτος dialecto murre dialecte narječje dialetto 方言 방언 dialect dialekt dialekt dialeto диалект dialekt ภาษาท้องถิ่น lehçe tiếng địa phương 方言