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diction - 6 dictionary results
dic⋅tion
[dik-shuh
n] 
–noun
| 1. | style of speaking or writing as dependent upon choice of words: good diction. |
| 2. | the accent, inflection, intonation, and speech-sound quality manifested by an individual speaker, usually judged in terms of prevailing standards of acceptability; enunciation. |
Origin:
1400–50; late ME diccion < LL dictiōn- (s. of dictiō) word, L: rhetorical delivery, equiv. to dict(us) said, spoken (ptp. of dīcere) + -iōn- -ion
1400–50; late ME diccion < LL dictiōn- (s. of dictiō) word, L: rhetorical delivery, equiv. to dict(us) said, spoken (ptp. of dīcere) + -iōn- -ion
Related forms:
dic⋅tion⋅al, adjective
dic⋅tion⋅al⋅ly, adverb
Synonyms:
1. usage, language. Diction, phraseology, wording refer to the means and the manner of expressing ideas. Diction usually implies a high level of usage; it refers chiefly to the choice of words, their arrangement, and the force, accuracy, and distinction with which they are used: The speaker was distinguished for his excellent diction; poetic diction. Phraseology refers more to the manner of combining the words into related groups, and esp. to the peculiar or distinctive manner in which certain technical, scientific, and professional ideas are expressed: legal phraseology. Wording refers to the exact words or phraseology used to convey thought: the wording of a will.
1. usage, language. Diction, phraseology, wording refer to the means and the manner of expressing ideas. Diction usually implies a high level of usage; it refers chiefly to the choice of words, their arrangement, and the force, accuracy, and distinction with which they are used: The speaker was distinguished for his excellent diction; poetic diction. Phraseology refers more to the manner of combining the words into related groups, and esp. to the peculiar or distinctive manner in which certain technical, scientific, and professional ideas are expressed: legal phraseology. Wording refers to the exact words or phraseology used to convey thought: the wording of a will.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
Link To diction
| dic·tion (dĭk'shən) n.
[Middle English diccion, a saying, word, from Old French, from Latin dictiō, dictiōn-, rhetorical delivery, from dictus, past participle of dīcere, to say, speak; see deik- in Indo-European roots.] dic'tion·al adj., dic'tion·al·ly adv. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Diction
Dic"tion\, n. [L. dicto a saying, a word, fr. dicere, dictum, to say; akin to dicare to proclaim, and to E. teach, token: cf. F. diction. See Teach, and cf. Benison, Dedicate, Index, Judge, Preach, Vengeance.] Choice of words for the expression of ideas; the construction, disposition, and application of words in discourse, with regard to clearness, accuracy, variety, etc.; mode of expression; language; as, the diction of Chaucer's poems. His diction blazes up into a sudden explosion of prophetic grandeur. --De Quincey. Syn: Diction, Style, Phraseology. Usage: Style relates both to language and thought; diction, to language only; phraseology, to the mechanical structure of sentences, or the mode in which they are phrased. The style of Burke was enriched with all the higher graces of composition; his diction was varied and copious; his phraseology, at times, was careless and cumbersome. "Diction is a general term applicable alike to a single sentence or a connected composition. Errors in grammar, false construction, a confused disposition of words, or an improper application of them, constitute bad diction; but the niceties, the elegancies, the peculiarities, and the beauties of composition, which mark the genius and talent of the writer, are what is comprehended under the name of style." --Crabb.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : diction
Spanish:
dicción,
German:
die Ausdrucksweise,
Japanese:
言葉づかい
diction
The choice of words. Diction is effective when words are appropriate to an audience. A man might refer to his car as his “wheels” in casual conversation with a friend, but if he were writing an essay for a group of economists, he would write, “People base their decision to buy an automobile on the following considerations,” not “People base their decision to buy wheels on the following considerations.”
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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diction
1542, from L.L. dictionem (nom. dictio), from L. "a saying, expression, word," from dic-, stem of dicere "speak, tell, say," related to dicare "proclaim, dedicate," from PIE base *deik- "to point out" (cf. Skt. dic- "point out, show," Gk. deiknynai "to prove," O.H.G. zeigon, Ger. zeigen "to show," O.E. teon "to accuse," tæcan "to teach").
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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diction
choice of words, especially with regard to correctness, clearness, or effectiveness. Any of the four generally accepted levels of diction-formal, informal, colloquial, or slang-may be correct in a particular context but incorrect in another or when mixed unintentionally. Most ideas have a number of alternate words that the writer can select to suit his purposes. "Children," "kids," "youngsters," "youths," and "brats," for example, all have different evocative values.
Learn more about diction with a free trial on Britannica.com.
Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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