vernacular English · revision 892

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /vəˈnækjələ/ ''(UK)''; /vɚˈnækjəlɚ/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ Formed from [[la|vernāculus|t=domestic, native]] with the suffix ''-ar'',^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) from ''verna'' “slave born in the master's house; native”,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) perhaps of Etruscan origin.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Of a person, that speaks or writes the native language of a country (1601).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In English the adjective is restricted to the sense of Latin ''vernācula vocābula'', the native words of a place, as opposed to literary, learned or foreign language.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) Of a language, “naturally spoken by the people of a country” dates from about 1645, and of literary works “written in the native language” from 1661.^(OED 1989) The noun, “the native speech of a place”, is recorded from 1661 or 1706.^(MW Collegiate)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) Later extensions include the common, non-scientific names of plants and animals^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate) and the local style of building known as ''vernacular architecture''.^(AHD)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1601 – adjective, using the native language.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * c. 1645 – of a language, native, indigenous.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1661 – noun (Merriam-Webster); of literature, in the native language.^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1706 – noun, the native speech (Barnhart, Etymonline).^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The everyday language spoken by ordinary people of a country or region, as distinct from the literary or learned language.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # The standard native language of a country or locality.^(AHD)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # The idiom of a particular trade, profession or group; [[jargon]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary)

+ # The common, non-scientific name of a plant or animal.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A local style of architecture using local materials.^(Wiktionary)^(RHWU)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Native to or commonly spoken in a particular country or region, rather than literary or foreign.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Expressed in or using the native language or dialect.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+ # Of a style of architecture or decoration common to a region or period.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Of the common, non-scientific name of a plant or animal.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[vernacularly]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[vulgar]]

+ * [[dialect]]

+ * [[idiom]]

+ * [[native]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}