Diglot

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A book containing the same text in two languages printed in parallel columns or on facing pages
2. A text format that presents the same content in two distinct languages, typically arranged side by side or on opposite pages
3. A publication that juxtaposes translations of a work in two languages for reader comparison

Etymology: "Diglot" is built from two Greek pieces: "dis," meaning "twice," and "glōttis," a little tongue, from "glōtta," a variant of "glōssa," meaning "tongue" or "language." Joined, the Greek adjective "dīglōttis" meant "two-tongued," and it was a fitting label for anything spoken in two languages. The English word keeps that picture intact: a diglot book is one that speaks in two tongues at once. In practice, the word names the familiar bilingual edition, where one language sits in a column beside its translation or across the facing page. The Greek root "glōssa" also gave English "gloss," an explanation of a difficult word, and "glossary," a list of such explanations, so the same tongue that runs through "diglot" runs through the vocabulary of translation and annotation.

Synonyms: bilingual