vernaculars

Noun

vernacular (plural vernaculars)

1. The language of a people or a national language.
   • The principal vernacular of the United States is English.

   Synonyms:

   vulgate, vulgar

2. Everyday speech or dialect, including colloquialisms, as opposed to standard, literary, liturgical, or scientific idiom.
   • Near-synonyms: basilect, demotic

   Synonyms:

   basilect, demotic

3. Language unique to a particular group of people.
   • Near-synonyms: jargon, argot, dialect, slang

   Synonyms:

   jargon, argot, dialect, slang

4. A language lacking standardization or a written form.
5. Indigenous spoken language, as distinct from a literary or liturgical language such as Ecclesiastical Latin.
   • Vatican II, a church council in the 1960s, allowed the celebration of the mass in the vernacular.

   Synonyms:

   vulgate, vulgar

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

See all 11 meanings of vernacular