Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A speech form or an expression of a given language that is peculiar to itself grammatically or cannot be understood from the individual meanings of its elements, as in keep tabs on.
- noun The specific grammatical, syntactic, and structural character of a given language.
- noun Regional speech or dialect.
- noun A specialized vocabulary used by a group of people; jargon.
- noun A style of artistic expression characteristic of a particular individual, school, period, or medium.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A mode of expression peculiar to a language; a peculiarity of phraseology; a phrase or form of words approved by the usage of a language, whether written or spoken, and often having a signification other than its grammatical or logical one. See
idiotism , 1. - noun The genius or peculiar cast of a language; hence, a peculiar form or variation of language; a dialect.
- noun Synonyms Dialect, Diction, etc. See
language .
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun The syntactical or structural form peculiar to any language; the genius or cast of a language.
- noun An expression conforming or appropriate to the peculiar structural form of a language.
- noun A combination of words having a meaning peculiar to itself and not predictable as a combination of the meanings of the individual words, but sanctioned by usage; ; less commonly, a single word used in a peculiar sense.
- noun The phrase forms peculiar to a particular author.
- noun Dialect; a variant form of a language.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A
manner of speaking, a way of expressing oneself. - noun A
language ordialect . - noun Specifically, a particular variety of
language ; a restricted dialect used in a given historical period, context etc. - noun An artistic
style (for example, in art, architecture, or music); aninstance of such a style. - noun An expression peculiar to or characteristic of a particular language, especially when the meaning is illogical or separate from the meanings of its component words.
- noun programming A programming construct or phraseology generally held to be the most efficient, elegant or effective means to achieve a particular result or behavior.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun the usage or vocabulary that is characteristic of a specific group of people
- noun the style of a particular artist or school or movement
- noun a manner of speaking that is natural to native speakers of a language
- noun an expression whose meanings cannot be inferred from the meanings of the words that make it up
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Keeping only the title idiom from Jolson's hit, the Chatmon composition stands a New York story on its head.
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Keeping only the title idiom from Jolson's hit, the Chatmon composition stands a New York story on its head.
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Keeping only the title idiom from Jolson's hit, the Chatmon composition stands a New York story on its head.
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In fact, the word idiom comes from the Greek root idio, meaning a unique signature.
4. Idioms 2002
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The Greek idiom translates as "into the ages of the ages."
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Duck, in this idiom is short for duck's egg, a British variant of goose egg, meaning ` zero '(or nil, as the British prefer to express it in scoring).
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You might have noticed by now that the keywords Mr. McWhorter has chosen to mark "language-ness" spell out the word "idiom"—which is apt, in that idioms are the parts of language that are the most ingrown, disheveled, intricate, oral and mixed.
Strange and Twisted Tongues Erin McKean 2011
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And when exactly does an idiom become an idiom: is let out in I let the dress out a phrasal verb, but in Who let the dogs out not?
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The true meaning of this idiom is "Something or someone that is expected to succeed".
Congresswoman apologizes for 'great white hope' comment 2009
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This comes on the heels of Jan Freeman discussing the dance attention/attendance idiom from the Amy Vanderbilt post in her column in the Boston Globe (which also runs syndicated in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette).
padawan commented on the word idiom
idiom: particular phrase
idioma: language
June 11, 2008
reesetee commented on the word idiom
What would happen during an idiom shortage?
November 7, 2009
dario commented on the word idiom
A lot of idioms here
April 30, 2010
dario commented on the word idiom
* to toe the line = to do as you're told
* to shoulder responsibility = to assume the responsibility on sth.
* to foot the bill = to pay it no matter what
* to thumb a lift = to ask for a lift
* to elbow your way in = to make your way in no matter what
* to table a question = to just say what you want to say
* to corner a thief = to leave the thief without a way out
* to tiptoe into a room = to enter without making any noise
* to man a ship = to furnish with a labor force for work, defense
* to coat with paint = apply paint to
* to cash in on an idea = to get a compensation, generally in money, from an idea
* to ship goods
* to house asylum seekers
* doom and gloom = pessimism
* time and again = always; many times; in a repeatedly manner
* to gild the lily = to add something that's not needed.
* high and dry = deserted (forsaken by owner or inhabitants)
* high and low = everywhere
* flesh and blood = human nature or physical existence, together with its weaknesses
* fame and fortune
* first and foremost = first and most important of all
* life and soul = lively, generally referring to a person
* black and white = communication by means of written symbols (either printed or handwritten)
* sixes and sevens = a state of confusion or disarray
* thick and thin = no matter what
* safe and sound = free from danger or injury
* give and take = make mutual concessions
* touch and go = precarious
Idioms that have to do with food
* put all your eggs in one basket = not to do everything the same way
* have a bigger fish to fry = to have more important things to do
* take with a pinch of salt = to listen to someone but not completely believe the story
April 30, 2010