dialect

C2+ Topic:People & Society

US /ˈdaɪəˌlɛkt/ UK /ˈdaɪəlɛkt/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a regional or social variety of a language with distinctive features

The northern dialect uses several words unknown in the south.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a regional or social... vernacular patois idiom tongue speechbrogueaccent

Word family

Derived forms dialectaldialectologydialectic

Related forms dialecticidiolectlexicon

Etymology

From Middle French dialecte, from Latin dialectus, from Ancient Greek dialektos ('conversation, language of a region'), from dialegesthai ('to converse'), from dia- ('across') + legein ('to speak').

dialektos Ancient Greek legein Ancient Greek *leǵ- Proto-Indo-European

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# dialect

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈdaɪəˌlɛkt/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈdaɪəlɛkt/

## Meanings
1. a regional or social variety of a language with distinctive features

## Examples
- The northern dialect uses several words unknown in the south.

## Synonyms
- vernacular
- patois
- idiom
- tongue
- speech
- brogue
- accent

## Derived Forms
- dialectal
- dialectology
- dialectic

## Related Forms
- dialectic
- idiolect
- lexicon

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: dialektos
- Root: legein
- Root: *leǵ-

## Etymology
From Middle French dialecte, from Latin dialectus, from Ancient Greek dialektos ('conversation, language of a region'), from dialegesthai ('to converse'), from dia- ('across') + legein ('to speak').

## AI Etymology
Dialect comes from Middle French dialecte, from Latin dialectus, from Ancient Greek dialektos ('conversation, language of a region'), from dialegesthai ('to converse'), from dia- ('across') + legein ('to speak'). The etymological trail includes Ancient Greek dialektos, Ancient Greek legein, and Proto-Indo-European *leǵ-. As a noun, dialect names a regional or social variety of a language with distinctive features. The same family is visible in derived forms such as dialectal, dialectology, and dialectic and related forms such as dialectic, idiolect, and lexicon. The analysis is partly morphological, with the modern form built from the elements named in the history.

## Topics
- People & Society

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