Standard Lemma guide

idiolect

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈɪd.i.əʊ̯.lɛkt/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈɪd.i.ə.lɛkt/
  • General-American: /ˈɪd.i.ə.lɛkt/
  • New-Zealand: /ˈɘ.di.ɐʉ.lekt/
  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The language variant used by a specific individual.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: human-sciences, linguistics, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

the language or speech of one individual at a particular period in life

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: speech, speech communication, spoken communication, spoken language, language, voice communication, oral communication

History

Etymology

From idio- + -lect.

Across languages

Translations

40 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Afrikaans: idiolek — variant of a language used by a particular individual
  • Arabic: لَهْجَةٌ شَخْصِيَّة (lahjatun šaḵṣiyya) — variant of a language used by a particular individual
  • Arabic: كتبة — variant of a language used by a particular individual
  • Catalan: idiolecte — variant of a language used by a particular individual
  • Chinese Mandarin: 個人習語 /个人习语 (gèrén xíyǔ) — variant of a language used by a particular individual
  • Czech: idiolekt — variant of a language used by a particular individual
  • Danish: idiolekt — variant of a language used by a particular individual
  • Finnish: yksilömurre — variant of a language used by a particular individual
  • Finnish: idiolekti — variant of a language used by a particular individual
  • French: idiolecte — variant of a language used by a particular individual
  • German: Idiolekt — variant of a language used by a particular individual
  • German: Individualsprachgebrauch — variant of a language used by a particular individual
  • Greek: ιδιόλεκτος (idiólektos) — variant of a language used by a particular individual
  • Greek: ιδιόλεκτο (idiólekto) — variant of a language used by a particular individual
  • Hungarian: idiolektus — variant of a language used by a particular individual
  • Icelandic: einkamállýska — variant of a language used by a particular individual
  • Indonesian: idiolek — variant of a language used by a particular individual
  • Irish: canúint aonair — variant of a language used by a particular individual
  • Irish: urlabhra aonair — variant of a language used by a particular individual
  • Irish: idióileict — variant of a language used by a particular individual
  • Irish: féinchanúint — variant of a language used by a particular individual
  • Italian: idioletto — variant of a language used by a particular individual
  • Japanese: 個人語 (kojingo) — variant of a language used by a particular individual
  • Korean: 개인어 (gaeineo) — variant of a language used by a particular individual
  • Malay: idiolek — variant of a language used by a particular individual
  • Māori: reo-ā-tangata — variant of a language used by a particular individual
  • Norwegian Bokmål: idiolekt — variant of a language used by a particular individual
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: idiolekt — variant of a language used by a particular individual
  • Polish: idiolekt — variant of a language used by a particular individual
  • Polish: język osobniczy — variant of a language used by a particular individual
  • Polish: mowa osobnicza — variant of a language used by a particular individual
  • Portuguese: idioleto — variant of a language used by a particular individual
  • Romanian: idiolect — variant of a language used by a particular individual
  • Russian: идиоле́кт (idiolékt) — variant of a language used by a particular individual
  • Spanish: idiolecto — variant of a language used by a particular individual
  • Swedish: idiolekt — variant of a language used by a particular individual
  • Tagalog: sariwika — variant of a language used by a particular individual
  • Turkish: bireydil — variant of a language used by a particular individual
  • Ukrainian: ідіоле́кт (idiolékt) — variant of a language used by a particular individual
  • Welsh: priodiaith — variant of a language used by a particular individual