/duy"euh lekt'/ , n.
1. Ling. a variety of a language that is distinguished from other varieties of the same language by features of phonology, grammar, and vocabulary, and by its use by a group of speakers who are set off from others geographically or socially.
2. a provincial, rural, or socially distinct variety of a language that differs from the standard language, esp. when considered as substandard.
3. a special variety of a language: The literary dialect is usually taken as the standard language.
4. a language considered as one of a group that have a common ancestor: Persian, Latin, and English are Indo-European dialects.
5. jargon or cant.
[ 1545-55; dialectus diálektos discourse, language, dialect, equiv. to dialég ( esthai ) to converse ( dia- DIA- + légein to speak) + -tos v. adj. suffix ]
Syn. 2. idiom, patois. See language .