solecism · noun — an error or improper usage. It carries an Arena rating of 1551, earned across 5 head-to-head judged battles.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, solecism ranks #472 of 17,146 for Most Storied Words, #779 of 17,176 for Most Incisive Words, #1,833 of 17,188 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #3,045 of 17,207 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound.
solecism is pronounced /ˈsɒlɪsɪzəm/.
Why “solecism” is a great word
A violation of grammatical or conventional propriety, tracing its lineage from Latin soloecismus, from Ancient Greek σολοικισμός (soloikismós), from σόλοικος (sóloikos, 'speaking incorrectly'), originally a judgment upon the inhabitants of the colony of Σόλοι (Sóloi), whose dialect was considered a corrupted form of Attic Greek. Unlike a malapropism, which substitutes a word for a comic near-homophone, or a faux pas, a broad social misstep, a solecism is a specific failure within a coded system. It is the educated speaker who insists 'between you and I,' the diplomat who proffers the wrong hand in greeting, the formal letter marred by a subject-verb disagreement—each a small, telling fracture in the façade of cultivated order, carrying the faint echo of an ancient, colonial scorn.
❧ Essay by Lexicurio’s AI · definition, etymology & citations from published sources
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French solecisme, soloëcisme (French solécisme) or its etymon Latin soloecismus, from Ancient Greek σολοικισμός (soloikismós), from σόλοικος (sóloikos, “speaking incorrectly”), from Σόλοι (Sóloi), an ancient Athenian colony in Cilicia whose inhabitants spoke a dialect regarded by Athenians as a corrupted and barbarous form of Attic Greek. Compare Atticism.
noun
- An error or improper usage.
- An error or improper usage.; An error in the use of language.
- An error or improper usage.; A faux pas or breach of etiquette; a transgression against the norms of expected behavior.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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