vernacular

¹ver·nac·u·lar

adj \və(r)-ˈna-kyə-lər\

Definition of VERNACULAR

1

a : using a language or dialect native to a region or country rather than a literary, cultured, or foreign language b : of, relating to, or being a nonstandard language or dialect of a place, region, or country c : of, relating to, or being the normal spoken form of a language

2

: applied to a plant or animal in the common native speech as distinguished from the Latin nomenclature of scientific classification <the vernacular name>

3

: of, relating to, or characteristic of a period, place, or group; especially : of, relating to, or being the common building style of a period or place <vernacular architecture>

— ver·nac·u·lar·ly adverb

Examples of VERNACULAR

1. the vernacular architecture of the region
2. <writes essays in a very easy-to-read, vernacular style>
3. While there are American operas galore, some of which are quite good indeed, there is no vernacular opera tradition in America—instead, we have musical comedy—and now that supertitles have become standard equipment at major American opera houses, the chances that those houses will start regularly performing foreign-language operas in English translation have dropped from slim to none. —Terry Teachout, New York Times Book Review, 9 Nov. 1997
4. Native crafts, the use of local materials, and vernacular buildings were considered integral to each country's heritage, and their preservation and revival became part of the movement to forge a strong national identity. —Wendy Kaplan, Antiques, October 1995
5. For the proliferation of rich vernacular literatures in the twelfth century secured the place of the vulgar tongues in European society, and this entrenchment of the vernacular tongues made the European peoples more conscious of being separated from each other; decreased the cosmopolitan attitudes of the European nobility; and encouraged xenophobia, which became common in the thirteenth century. —Norman F. Cantor, The Civilization of the Middle Ages, 1993
6. Hurricanes, fires and economic development unfortunately have caused many examples of both vernacular and more classical architecture to disappear over the years. —Suzanne Stephens, Architectural Digest, 1 Aug. 1990

Origin of VERNACULAR

Latin vernaculus native, from verna slave born in the master's house, native

First Known Use: 1601

Related to VERNACULAR

Synonyms: conversational, informal, nonformal, nonliterary, unbookish, unliterary, colloquial, vulgar

Antonyms: bookish, formal, learned, literary

Related Words: dialectal, dialectical (also dialectic), nonstandard, regional; incorrect, nongrammatical, substandard, uneducated, ungrammatical, unlearned; slang, slangy

Near Antonyms: standard, undialectical; correct, educated, genteel, grammatical, proper

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Other Grammar and Linguistics Terms

ablaut, allusion, anacoluthon, diacritic, gerund, idiom, infinitive, metaphor, semiotics, simile

Rhymes with VERNACULAR

oracular, spectacular, spiracular, tentacular