[di.a.lect] n, often attrib [MF dialecte, fr. L dialectus, fr. Gk dialektos conversation, dialect, fr. dialegesthai to converse--more at dialogue] (1577) 1 a: a regional variety of language distinguished by features of vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation from other regional varieties and constituting together with them a single language "the Doric ~ of ancient Greek" b: one of two or more cognate languages "French and Italian are Romance ~s" c: a variety of a language used by the members of a group "such ~s as politics and advertising --Philip Howard" d: a variety of language whose identity is fixed by a factor other than geography (as social class) "spoke a rough peasant ~" e: register 4c f: a version of a computer programming language
2: manner or means of expressing oneself: phraseology -- di.a.lec.tal adj -- di.a.lec.tal.ly adv