English
dialect
Dialect comes from Latin dialectos ‘a dialect (esp. Greek)’, from Ancient Greek διάλεκτος ‘conversation, the language of a country or a…’, and ultimately from διαλέγομαι ‘to participate in a dialogue’.
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδιαλέγομαιdialégomai‘to participate in a dialogue’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEδιάλεκτοςdiálektos‘conversation, the language of a country or a place or a nation’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdialectos‘a dialect (esp. Greek)’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600dialecte
- Englishearliest quotation 1896dialect
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEδιαλέγομαιdialégomai‘to participate in a dialogue’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEδιάλεκτοςdiálektos‘conversation, the language of a country or a place or a nation’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEdialectos‘a dialect (esp. Greek)’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600dialecte
- Englishearliest quotation 1896dialect
Earliest quotation: 1896, Alfred Newton, A Dictionary of Birds: “A curious question, which has as yet attracted but…”
A compound of διά ‘inter, through’ + λέγω ‘to speak’
Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁ ‘two’
Proto-Indo-European *dwís ‘twice, in two’
Ancient Greek διά ‘inter, through’
Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- ‘to collect, gather’
Proto-Hellenic *légō ‘to gather’
Ancient Greek λέγω ‘to speak’
Every English word from Ancient Greek διαλέγομαι
Today it means
noun A lect (often a regional or minority language) as part of a group or family of languages, especially if they are viewed as a single language, or if contrasted with a standardized idiom that is considered the 'true' form of the language (for example, Bavarian as contrasted with Standard German).
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Ancient Greek διαλέγομαι / dialect