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''colloquial'' ▫ᴱᴺ｜Definition｜1st｜20250825005229-00-⌔
colloquial - Wiktionary, the free dictionary
English
Adjective
colloquial (comparative more colloquial, superlative most colloquial)
- (linguistics) Characteristic of familiar conversation, of common parlance; informal.
- ✤ You’re using too many colloquial words in this cover letter: I suggest changing “I picked up loads of cool skills” to “I acquired many positive abilities”
- ✤ The colloquial, and at times sarcastic, tone of her books makes her popular with teenagers.
- ✤ If you know what it means to be a “fidlet” going for a “jolly” in your “doo”, then you are part of an exclusive club that speaks colloquial Antarctic English.1
- Of or pertaining to a conversation; conversational or chatty.
Noun
colloquial (plural colloquials)
- A colloquial word or phrase, colloquialism.
Etymology
1751, from earlier term colloquy (“a conversation”), from Latin colloquium (“conference, conversation”), from con- (“together”) + loquor (“to speak”), + -al.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA: /kəˈləʊ.kwɪəl/
- (General American) IPA: /kəˈloʊ.kwi.əl/
- Audio (Canada): 🔊
- Hyphenation: col‧lo‧qui‧al
Printed 2026-06-28.
(echo:: @ ⌗)
Link to original Footnotes
2024 June 20, Eva Corlett, “Fidlets, fingies and riding a doo: study sheds light on Antarctic English slang”, in The Guardian : ↩
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