Di"a*lect (?), n. [F. dialecte, L. dialectus,
fr. Gr. &?;, fr. &?; to converse, discourse. See Dialogue.]
1. Means or mode of expressing thoughts; language; tongue; form of speech.
This book is
writ in such a dialect
As may the minds of
listless men affect.
Bunyan.
The universal dialect of the world.
South. 2. The form of speech of a limited region or people, as
distinguished from ether forms nearly related to it; a variety
or subdivision of a language; speech
characterized by local
peculiarities or specific
circumstances; as, the Ionic and Attic were dialects of Greece; the Yorkshire dialect; the dialect of the learned.
In the midst of this
Babel of dialects there suddenly appeared a standard English language.
Earle.
[Charles V.] could
address his subjects from every quarter in their native dialect.
Prescott.
Syn. -- Language;
idiom; tongue; speech; phraseology. See Language, and Idiom.
Hear it pronounced