dialect

noun

di·​a·​lect ˈdī-ə-ˌlekt 

often attributive

1

linguistics

a

: a regional variety of language distinguished by features of vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation from other regional varieties and constituting together with them a single language

the Doric dialect of ancient Greek

a dialect of Chinese spoken in Hong Kong

b

: one of two or more cognate (see cognate entry 1 sense 3a) languages

French and Italian are Romance dialects

c

: a variety of a language used by the members of a group

such dialects as politics and advertising

—Philip Howard

d

: a variety of language whose identity is fixed by a factor other than geography (such as social class)

spoke a rough peasant dialect

e

: register sense 4c

f

: a version of a computer programming language

2

: manner or means of expressing oneself : phraseology

dialectal

ˌdī-ə-ˈlek-tᵊl 

adjective

dialectally

ˌdī-ə-ˈlek-tə-lē 

adverb

Synonyms

• argot
• cant
• jargon
• jive
• language
• lingo
• patois
• patter
• shop
• shoptalk
• slang
• terminology
• vocabulary

Examples of dialect in a Sentence

They speak a southern dialect of French.

The author uses dialect in his writing.

The play was hard to understand when the characters spoke in dialect.

Recent Examples on the Web

Jones and Brody learned Hungarian and worked with a dialect coach for the movie. —Carole Horst, Variety, 17 Dec. 2024

Turns out, dat good ole dialect is a put-on: James speaks like a professor. —Rachel Flynn, People.com, 3 Dec. 2024

He’s been working with a vocal coach, a guitar teacher, a dialect coach, a movement coach, even a harmonica guy. —Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 18 Nov. 2024

In truth, this ambivalence existed for Jacob, too, who worried that the standardization of German in schools might downgrade dialects and the very folk speech that their lives had been devoted to capturing. —Jennifer Wilson, The New Yorker, 4 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle French dialecte, from Latin dialectus, from Greek dialektos conversation, dialect, from dialegesthai to converse — more at dialogue

First Known Use

1566, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing dialect

• dialect atlas
• dialect geography
• sub-dialect

Kids Definition

dialect

noun

di·​a·​lect ˈdī-ə-ˌlekt 

1

: a regional variety of a language differing from the standard language

2

: a variety of a language used by the members of a particular group or class

peasant dialect

dialectal

ˌdī-ə-ˈlek-tᵊl 

adjective

dialectally

-tᵊl-ē 

adverb