colloquial
/kəˈloʊ.kwi.əl/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.93 in modern English
21
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
4
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A colloquial word or phrase, colloquialism.
Example Sentences
- "You're using too many colloquial words in this cover letter: I suggest changing "I picked up loads of cool skills" to "I acquired many positive abilities""
- "The colloquial, and at times sarcastic, tone of her books makes her popular with teenagers."
- "If you know what it means to be a “fidlet” going for a “jolly” in your “doo”, then you are part of an exclusive club that speaks colloquial Antarctic English."
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ḱe? Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm Proto-Italic *kom Proto-Italic *kom- Latin con- Proto-Indo-European *telkʷ- Proto-Indo-European *tlokʷetorder. Proto-Italic *tlokʷōr Latin loquor Latin colloquor Proto-Indo-European *-(i)yós Proto-Italic *-ijos Proto-Italic *-ios Old Latin -ios Latin -iusnom. Latin -ium Latin colloquiumder. Middle English colloquies English colloquy Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- Proto-Indo-European *-is Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.? Proto-Italic *-ālis Latin -ālisbor. Old French -albor. ▲ Latin -ālis Old French -elbor. ▲ Latin -ālisbor. Middle English -al English -al English colloquial 1751, from earlier term colloquy (“a conversation”), from Latin colloquium (“conference, conversation”), from con- (“together”) + loquor (“to speak”), + -al.
Origin
- Source language: Latin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /kəˈloʊ.kwi.əl/
- British English: /kəˈləʊ.kwɪəl/
Usage
- Colloquial
Inflected Forms
most colloquial (superlative)
colloquials (plural)