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colloquial
7 dictionary results for: colloquial
Webster's New Millennium™ Dictionary of English - Cite This Source - Share This
| Main Entry: | colloquial |
| Part of Speech: | adj |
| Definition: | pertaining to words or expressions more suitable for speech than writing; in informal, conversational style |
| Etymology: | Latin colloquium 'speaking together' |
Webster's New Millennium™ Dictionary of English, Preview Edition (v 0.9.7)
Copyright © 2007 Lexico Publishing Group, LLC
Copyright © 2007 Lexico Publishing Group, LLC
Webster's New Millennium™ Dictionary of English - Cite This Source - Share This
| Main Entry: | colloquial |
| Part of Speech: | n |
| Definition: | colloquial language or speech |
| Etymology: | Latin colloquium 'speaking together' |
Webster's New Millennium™ Dictionary of English, Preview Edition (v 0.9.7)
Copyright © 2007 Lexico Publishing Group, LLC
Copyright © 2007 Lexico Publishing Group, LLC
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
col·lo·qui·al 
[kuh-loh-kwee-uhl] Pronunciation Key
—Related forms
[kuh-loh-kwee-uhl] Pronunciation Key –adjective
| 1. | characteristic of or appropriate to ordinary or familiar conversation rather than formal speech or writing; informal. |
| 2. | involving or using conversation. |
—Related forms
col·lo·qui·al·ly, adverb
col·lo·qui·al·ness, col·lo·qui·al·i·ty, noun
—Synonyms 1, 2. Colloquial, conversational, informal refer to types of speech or to usages not on a formal level. Colloquial is often mistakenly used with a connotation of disapproval, as if it meant “vulgar” or “bad” or “incorrect” usage, whereas it is merely a familiar style used in speaking and writing. Conversational refers to a style used in the oral exchange of ideas, opinions, etc.: an easy conversational style. Informal means without formality, without strict attention to set forms, unceremonious: an informal manner of speaking; it describes the ordinary, everyday language of cultivated speakers.
—Antonyms 1. formal.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
| col·lo·qui·al
(kə-lō'kwē-əl) Pronunciation Key
adj.
[From colloquy.] col·lo'qui·al n., col·lo'qui·al·ly adv., col·lo'qui·al·ness n. |
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
colloquial
colloquial
1751, from colloquy "a conversation" (1459), from L. colloquium "conference, conversation," from com- "together" + loqui "speak." Colloquialism first attested 1810. Colloquium itself was borrowed from L. 1609.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
| colloquial | |
adjective | |
| characteristic of informal spoken language or conversation; "wrote her letters in a colloquial style"; "the broken syntax and casual enunciation of conversational English" |
WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Colloquial
Col*lo"qui*al\, a. [See Colloqui.] Pertaining to, or used in, conversation, esp. common and familiar conversation; conversational; hence, unstudied; informal; as, colloquial intercourse; colloquial phrases; a colloquial style. -- Col*lo"qui*al*ly, adv. His [Johnson's] colloquial talents were, indeed, of the highest order. --Macaulay.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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