Associations to the word «Idiom»

Wiktionary

IDIOM, noun. (now rare) A manner of speaking, a way of expressing oneself.
IDIOM, noun. A language or dialect.
IDIOM, noun. Specifically, a particular variety of language; a restricted dialect used in a given historical period, context etc.
IDIOM, noun. An artistic style (for example, in art, architecture, or music); an instance of such a style.
IDIOM, 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.
IDIOM, noun. (programming) A programming construct or phraseology generally held to be the most efficient or elegant means to achieve a particular result or behavior.
IDIOM BLEND, noun. (rare neologism) A malaphor: an error in which two similar figures of speech are merged, producing a nonsensical result.
IDIOM NEUTRAL, proper noun. An artificial language, partially derived from Volapük, with a vocabulary consistently selected on the basis of the maximum internationality of the roots.

Dictionary definition

IDIOM, noun. A manner of speaking that is natural to native speakers of a language.
IDIOM, noun. The usage or vocabulary that is characteristic of a specific group of people; "the immigrants spoke an odd dialect of English"; "he has a strong German accent"; "it has been said that a language is a dialect with an army and navy".
IDIOM, noun. The style of a particular artist or school or movement; "an imaginative orchestral idiom".
IDIOM, noun. An expression whose meanings cannot be inferred from the meanings of the words that make it up.

Wise words

Words are always getting conventionalized to some secondary meaning. It is one of the works of poetry to take the truants in custody and bring them back to their right senses.
William Butler Yeats