Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

vernacular

/vɚˈnækjəlɚ/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.23 in modern English

Syllables: ver-nac-u-lar
IPA: /vɚˈnækjəlɚ/

15

Scrabble Score

10

Letters

4

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The language of a people or a national language.

noun

Everyday speech or dialect, including colloquialisms, as opposed to standard, literary, liturgical, or scientific idiom.

noun

Language unique to a particular group of people.

noun

A language lacking standardization or a written form.

noun

Indigenous spoken language, as distinct from a literary or liturgical language such as Ecclesiastical Latin.

noun

A style of architecture involving local building materials and styles; not imported.

adj

Of or pertaining to everyday language, as opposed to standard, literary, liturgical, or scientific idiom.

adj

Belonging to the country of one's birth; one's own by birth or by nature.

Example Sentences

"The principal vernacular of the United States is English."
"The idea that the Bible should be translated into vernaculars was explosive in medieval society."
"Near-synonyms: basilect, demotic"
"Street vernacular can be quite different from what is heard elsewhere."
"Near-synonyms: jargon, argot, dialect, slang"
"For those of a certain age, hiphop vernacular might just as well be a foreign language."

Etymology

Etymology tree Latin verna Proto-Indo-European *-lós Proto-Indo-European *-elós Proto-Italic *-elos Proto-Italic *-kelos Latin -culus Latin vernāculus English vernacular From Latin vernāculus (“domestic, indigenous, of or pertaining to home-born slaves”), from verna (“a native, a home-born slave (one born in his master's house)”).

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /vɚˈnækjəlɚ/
British English: /vəˈnækjələ/

Inflected Forms

vernaculars (plural) more vernacular (comparative) most vernacular (superlative)

Derived Forms

nonvernacular vernacularism vernacularist vernacularity vernacularization vernacularize vernacularly vernacularness

Phrases

vernacular architecture vernacular dance vernacular dialect vernacular language vernacular name vernacular school vernacular variety

Frequently Paired Words

lingua franca link language vehicular language official language minority language primitive naive

Synonyms

vulgate vulgar basilect demotic jargon argot dialect slang common everyday indigenous ordinary

Antonyms

unvernacular

Rhymes With

spectacular unspectacular jentacular saccular tubulosaccular utriculosaccular

Questions

How do you pronounce vernacular?: The recorded pronunciation is /vɚˈnækjəlɚ/.
What does vernacular mean?: The language of a people or a national language.
Where does vernacular come from?: Etymology tree Latin verna Proto-Indo-European *-lós Proto-Indo-European *-elós Proto-Italic *-elos Proto-Italic *-kelos Latin -culus Latin vernāculus English vernacular From Latin vernāculus (“domestic, indigenous, of or pertaining to home-born slaves”), from verna (“a native, a home-born slave (one born in his master's house)”).

How to pronounce vernacular

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “vernacular”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/vɚˈnækjəlɚ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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Repeat and practice — Say “vernacular” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.