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solecism - 4 dictionary results

sol⋅e⋅cism

  [sol-uh-siz-uhm, soh-luh-]
Use solecism in a Sentence
–noun
1. a nonstandard or ungrammatical usage, as unflammable and they was.
2. a breach of good manners or etiquette.
3. any error, impropriety, or inconsistency.
Origin:
1570–80; < L soloecismus < Gk soloikismós, equiv. to sóloik(os) (Sólo(i) a city in Cilicia where a corrupt form of Attic Greek was spoken + -ikos -ic ) + -ismos -ism

Related forms:
sol⋅e⋅cist, noun
sol⋅e⋅cis⋅tic, sol⋅e⋅cis⋅ti⋅cal, adjective
sol⋅e⋅cis⋅ti⋅cal⋅ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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sol·e·cism   (sŏl'ĭ-sĭz'əm, sō'lĭ-)   
n.  
  1. A nonstandard usage or grammatical construction.
  2. A violation of etiquette.
  3. An impropriety, mistake, or incongruity.

[Latin soloecismus, from Greek soloikismos, from soloikizein, to speak incorrectly, from soloikos, speaking incorrectly, after Soloi (Soli), an Athenian colony in Cilicia where a dialect regarded as substandard was spoken.]
sol'e·cist n., sol'e·cis'tic adj.
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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Solecism

Sol"e*cism\, n.[F. sol['e]cisme, L. soloecismus, Gr. soloikismo`s, fr. soloiki`zein to speak or write incorrectly, fr. so`loikos speaking incorrectly, from the corruption of the Attic dialect among the Athenian colonists of So`loi in Cilicia.]

1. An impropriety or incongruity of language in the combination of words or parts of a sentence; esp., deviation from the idiom of a language or from the rules of syntax.

A barbarism may be in one word; a solecism must be of more. --Johnson.

2. Any inconsistency, unfitness, absurdity, or impropriety, as in deeds or manners.

C[ae]sar, by dismissing his guards and retaining his power, committed a dangerous solecism in politics. --C. Middleton.

The idea of having committed the slightest solecism in politeness was agony to him. --Sir W. Scott.

Syn: Barbarism; impropriety; absurdity.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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solecism 
1577, from M.Fr. solécisme, from L. soloecismus "mistake in speaking or writing," from Gk. soloikismos "to speak (Greek) incorrectly," from soloikos "ungrammatical utterance," prop. "a speaking like the people of Soloi," from Soloi, Athenian colony in Cilicia, whose dialect the Athenians considered barbarous.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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