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idiolect

American  
[id-ee-uh-lekt] / ˈɪd i əˌlɛkt /

noun

Linguistics.

  1. a person's individual speech pattern.

idiolect British  
/ ˈɪdɪəˌlɛkt /

noun

  1. the variety or form of a language used by an individual

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • idiolectal adjective

Etymology

Origin of idiolect

First recorded in 1945–50; idio- + -lect, as in dialect

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.