Idiom Definition
ĭdē-əm
idioms
noun
idioms
The specific grammatical, syntactic, and structural character of a given language.
American Heritage
The usual way in which the words of a particular language are joined together to express thought.
Webster's New World
A phrase, construction, or expression that is recognized as a unit in the usage of a given language and either differs from the usual syntactic patterns or has a meaning that differs from the literal meaning of its parts taken together (Ex.: not a word did she say; she heard it straight from the horse's mouth)
Webster's New World
The language or dialect of a people, region, class, etc.
Webster's New World
Regional speech or dialect.
American Heritage
Synonyms:
- phrasal-idiom
- set-phrase
- phrase
- idiomatic expression
- accent
- dialect
- parlance
- artistic style
- vernacular
- language
- expression
- colloquialism
- vocabulary
- terminology
- patois
Antonyms:
Other Word Forms of Idiom
Noun
Singular:
idiom
Plural:
idiomataOrigin of Idiom
-
From Middle French idiome, and its source, Late Latin idioma, from Ancient Greek ἰδίωμα (idioma, “a peculiarity, property, a peculiar phraseology, idiom”), from ἰδιοῦσθαι (idiousthai, “to make one's own, appropriate to oneself”), from ἴδιος (idios, “one's own, pertaining to oneself, private, personal, peculiar, separate”).
From Wiktionary
-
Late Latin idiōma idiōmat- from Greek from idiousthai to make one's own from idios own, personal, private s(w)e- in Indo-European roots
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
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