colloquial

English

Etymology

1751, from earlier term colloquy (a conversation), from Latin colloquium (conference, conversation), from con- (together) + loqui (speak).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /ˈkə.ləʊ.kwil̩/, SAMPA: /"k@.l@U.kwil=/
• (US) IPA: /kəˈloʊ.kwiəl/

Adjective

colloquial (comparative more colloquial, superlative most colloquial)

1. (linguistics) Denoting a manner of speaking or writing that is characteristic of familiar conversation; informal.
2. Of or pertaining to a conversation; conversational or chatty.

Usage notes

Note that while colloquy and colloquium refer to formal conversation, colloquial refers instead specifically to informal conversation.

Derived terms

• colloquialism
• colloquially
• colloquialness
• colloquiality

Related terms

• colloquium
• colloquy
• slang

Translations

of oral communication language

Arabic: (Eastern Arabic) عامي (ar) (`aammiy), (Western Arabic) دارج (ar) (daarij) Bulgarian: разговорен (bg) (razgovoren) m. Catalan: col·loquial Chinese: Mandarin: 口語 (cmn), 口语 (cmn) (kǒuyǔ) Czech: hovorový (cs) m. Danish: dagligsprog (da)s- Dutch: gemeenzaam, idiomatisch, van de spreektaal, informeel Estonian: kõnekeelne (et), argikeelne (et) Finnish: arkikielinen (fi), puhekielinen (fi) French: familier (fr), parlé (fr) Georgian: სალაპარაკო (ka)

German: umgangssprachlich (de), Umgangs- (de) (noun prefix) Greek: κοινολεκτικός (el) (koinolektikós) m. Japanese: 口語体(こうごたい, kōgotai), 話し言葉の (はなしことばの, hanashikotoba no), 口語の (ja) (こうごの, kōgo-no) Luxembourgish: ëmgangssproochlech (lb) Polish: kolokwialny (pl) m., potoczny (pl) m. Portuguese: coloquial (pt) Russian: разговорный (ru) (razgovórnyj) m., нелитературный (ru) (neliteratúrnyj) m. Slovene: pogovorni (sl) m. Spanish: coloquial (es), familiar (es) Swedish: vardaglig (sv)