Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Idiom
Id′i-om
(ĭd′ĭ-ŭm)
, Noun.
[F.
idiome
, L. idioma
, fr. Gr. ἰδίωμα
, fr. ἰδιοῦν
to make a person’s own, to make proper or peculiar; fr. ἴδιοσ
one's own, proper, peculiar; prob. akin to the reflexive pronoun οὗ
, οἶ
, ἔ
, and to ἑός
, ὄς
, one's own, L. suus
, and to E. so
.] 1.
The syntactical or structural form peculiar to any language; the genius or cast of a language.
Idiom
may be employed loosely and figuratively as a synonym of language or dialect, but in its proper sense it signifies the totality of the general rules of construction which characterize the syntax of a particular language and distinguish it from other tongues. G. P. Marsh.
By
idiom
is meant the use of words which is peculiar to a particular language. J. H. Newman.
He followed their language [the Latin], but did not comply with the
idiom
of ours. Dryden.
2.
An expression conforming or appropriate to the peculiar structural form of a language.
Some that with care true eloquence shall teach,
And to just
And to just
idioms
fix our doubtful speech. Prior.
It is not by means of rules that such
idioms
as the following are made current: “I can make nothing
of it.” “He treats
his subject home
.” Dryden
. “It is that within us that makes for
righteousness.” M. Arnold
. Gostwick (Eng. Gram.)
Sometimes we identify the words with the object – though by courtesy of
idiom
rather than in strict propriety of language. Coleridge.
4.
The phrase forms peculiar to a particular author;
as, written in his own
. idiom
Every good writer has much
idiom
. Landor.
5.
Dialect; a variant form of a language.
Webster 1828 Edition
Idiom
ID'IOM
,Noun.
1.
A mode of expression peculiar to a language; peculiarity of expression or phraseology. In this sense, it is used in the plural to denote forms of speech or phraseology, peculiar to a nation or language. And to just idioms fix our doubtful speech.
2.
The genius or peculiar east of a language. He followed the Latin language, but did not comply with the idiom of ours.
3.
Dialect.