Link Centre Dictionary

idiom

UK/ˈɪdiəm/ US/ˈɪdɪəm/ rare

noun

1.

a manner of speaking that is natural to native speakers of a language

Synonyms
2.

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”
Synonyms
3.

the style of a particular artist or school or movement

  • “an imaginative orchestral idiom”
Synonyms
4.

an expression whose meanings cannot be inferred from the meanings of the words that make it up

Synonyms

Origin

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.

Phrases

  • idiom blend
  • phrasal verb

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.