I. R və(r)ˈnakyələr, - R vəˈnakyələ(r adjective
Etymology: Latin vernacul us homeborn, native (from verna homeborn slave, native) + English -ar
1.
a. : using a language or dialect native to a region or country rather than a literary, cultured, or foreign language
vernacular speakers
Ceylon had 336 English and 4701 vernacular schools — Origins & Purpose
in … this vernacular poetry, the effect of Latin verse forms appears — H.O.Taylor
b. : belonging to or being a language or dialect developed in and spoken and used by the people of a particular place, region, or country in a form (as a dialect or a variety of cant, slang, jargon, or argot) considered nonstandard or substandard usually as contrasted with a literary or cultured form
his freedom from eccentricity, his gumption, to use the vernacular word — William James
only when a language … has ceased to be vernacular , does its form become unchanging — L.H.Gray
slang widely used by … adults in the vernacular speech of the street and country — H.D.Rinsland
Hebrew … translated into the vernacular Aramaic — J.R.Dummelow
the various vernacular languages of the region — Cecil Hobbs
c. : of, relating to, expressed in, or being a dialect or variety of a language normally or naturally spoken by all the speakers of a language
crudely written, in a vernacular style that is often tiring — Granville Hicks
d. : being the name of a plant or animal in the vernacular language or common native speech as distinguished from the Latin nomenclature of scientific classification
black alder and winterberry are vernacular names of Ilex verticillata
2. : of, relating to, characteristic of, or expressed in the style of a place, period, or group
the vernacular culture of our people — L.R.Beltran
especially : of, relating to, or being the common building style of a period or place : employing the commonest or most typical architectural forms and decoration
thatch and half-timber construction … of English vernacular building — Harry Batsford & Charles Fry
• ver·nac·u·lar·ly adverb
II. noun
( -s )
1. : a vernacular language, expression, or mode of expression: as
a. : the native language or dialect of a country, region, or person
autobiography of a Nigerian woman was dictated in the vernacular — British Book News
the English vernacular of Ireland
b. : a language that is spoken or written naturally at a particular period : living language
read Greek and Latin as energetically as he read Italian and French and other vernaculars — Gilbert Highet
an imported vernacular was widely current — Ruth Dean
c. : an expression or mode of expression natural to or used by a group or class
has become a part of ethnological, even … of literary vernacular — Gladys A. Reichard
the findings of accredited biblical scholarship are translated into the vernaculars of childhood and youth — W.L.Sperry
believed signs were the vernacular of the deaf — J.S.Long
d. : the variety of a language or an expression in this variety commonly spoken by all or a part of the users of the language as distinguished from a written, literary, or cultured variety
state the problem in simple vernacular — Anthony Leviero
in the inelegant vernacular , “So what?” — C.R.Rogers
e. : a vernacular name of a plant or animal
2. : a style of artistic or technical and especially architectural expression employing the commonest forms, materials, and decorations of a place, period, or group
an impressive structure of white marble, expressed in a Renaissance vernacular — American Guide Series: Minnesota
builders, masons, and thatchers developed their forms of vernacular in response to climatic conditions — Norman Wymer
Synonyms: see dialect