idiom

Etymology

From Middle French idiome, and its source, Late Latin idioma, from Ancient Greek ἰδίωμα (idíōma, “a peculiarity, property, a peculiar phraseology, idiom”), from ἰδιοῦσθαι (idioûsthai, “to make one's own, appropriate to oneself”), from ἴδιος (ídios, “one's own, pertaining to oneself, private, personal, peculiar, separate”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈɪdɪəm/

• Audio (GB)

  (file)

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

idiom (countable and uncountable, plural idioms or idiomata)

1. (now rare) A manner of speaking, a way of expressing oneself.
2. A language or dialect.
3. Specifically, a particular variety of language; a restricted dialect used in a given historical period, context etc.
   • 2010, Christopher Hitchens, "The Other L-Word", Vanity Fair, 13 Jan 2010:

     Many parents and teachers have become irritated to the point of distraction at the way the weed-style growth of "like" has spread through the idiom of the young.

4. An artistic style (for example, in art, architecture, or music); an instance of such a style.
5. 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.
   • 2008, Patricia Hampl, “You’re History”, in Patricia Hampl and Elaine Tyler May (editors), Tell Me True: Memoir, History, and Writing a Life, Minnesota Historical Society, →ISBN, page 134:

     You’re history, we say […] . Surely it is an American idiom. Impossible to imagine a postwar European saying, “You’re history. . . . That’s history,” meaning fuhgeddaboudit, pal.

6. (programming) A programming construct or phraseology that is characteristic of the language.
   • 2005, Magnus Lie Hetland, Beginning Python: From Novice to Professional, →ISBN, page 100:

     I have to use the same assignment and call to raw_input in two places. How can I avoid that? I can use the while True/break idiom: […]

Anagrams

• imido, imido-, modii

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈid.jɔm/

• audio

  (file)

Noun

idiom m inan

1. idiom

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /idǐoːm/
• Hyphenation: i‧di‧om

Noun

idìōm m (Cyrillic spelling идѝо̄м)

1. idiom