dialect Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun the usage or vocabulary that is characteristic of a specific group of people
    accent; idiom.
    • 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

WordNet

Di"a*lect noun
Etymology
F. dialecte, L. dialectus, fr. Gr. , fr. to converse, discourse. See Dialogue.
Definitions
  1. Means or mode of expressing thoughts; language; tongue; form of speech.
    This book is writ in such a dialect As may the minds of listless men affect. Bunyan. The universal dialect of the world. South.
  2. The form of speech of a limited region or people, as distinguished from ether forms nearly related to it; a variety or subdivision of a language; speech characterized by local peculiarities or specific circumstances; as, the Ionic and Attic were dialects of Greece; the Yorkshire dialect; the dialect of the learned.
    In the midst of this Babel of dialects there suddenly appeared a standard English language. Earle.
    [Charles V.] could address his subjects from every quarter in their native dialect. Prescott.
    Syn. -- Language; idiom; tongue; speech; phraseology. See Language, and Idiom.

Webster 1913