Contextualizebeta

idiom

noun
/ˈɪdiəm/

Etymology

From Middle French idiome, and its source, Late Latin idioma, from Ancient Greek ἰδίωμα (idíōma, “a peculiarity, property, a peculiar phraseology, idiom”), from ἰδιοῦσθαι (idioûsthai, “to make one's own, appropriate to oneself”), from ἴδιος (ídios, “one's own, pertaining to oneself, private, personal, peculiar, separate”). By surface analysis, idi- + -om.

  1. derived from ἰδίωμα
  2. derived from idiome

Definitions

  1. A manner of speaking, a mode of expression peculiar to a language, language family, or…

    A manner of speaking, a mode of expression peculiar to a language, language family, or group of people.

    • In English, idiom requires the indefinite article in a phrase such as "she's an engineer", whereas in Spanish, idiom forbids it.
    • Some of the usage prescriptions improved clarity and were kept; others that yielded discordant violations of idiom were eventually revised.

  2. A language or language variety

    A language or language variety; specifically, a restricted dialect used in a given historical period, context, etc.

    • In the idiom of the day, they were sutlers, although today they'd probably be called vendors.
    • Many parents and teachers have become irritated to the point of distraction at the way the weed-style growth of "like" has spread through the idiom of the young.

  3. An established phrasal expression whose meaning may not be deducible from the literal…

    An established phrasal expression whose meaning may not be deducible from the literal meanings of its component words.

    • She often spoke in idioms, pining for salad days and complaining about pots calling the kettle black.
    • You’re history, we say […]. Surely it is an American idiom. Impossible to imagine a postwar European saying, “You’re history. . . . That’s history,” meaning fuhgeddaboudit, pal.
  4. ›+ 1 more definition

    1. An artistic style (for example, in art, architecture, or music)

      An artistic style (for example, in art, architecture, or music); an instance of such a style.

      • the idiom of the expressionists

The neighborhood

Derived

bromidiom, idiomacy, idiomatic, idiomatical, idiomatically, idiomaticize, idiom blend, idiomless

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at idiom. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

01idiom02literal03following04specified05explained06explain07meaning08expression

A definitional loop anchored at idiom. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

8 hops · closes at idiom

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA