Vernaculous

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Relating to or characterized by the use of informal, everyday language typical of a particular place or group
2. Characterized by a style of communication that employs the everyday language and informal expressions distinctive to a specific locale or community
3. Pertaining to the use of local dialect or colloquial language that reflects the everyday speech patterns of a particular area or social group

Etymology: "Vernaculous" is a rare adjective that reads as a near-synonym of "vernacular" with an extra syllable, and its history runs straight back to a Latin adjective meaning "domestic" or "native." The Latin "vernaculus" was formed from "verna," a home-born slave, and the sense of something belonging to the household or household-born was later stretched to speech: the language spoken natively in a place rather than the learned, formal tongue of scholars. The word "vernacular" carries that idea into English, and "vernaculous" follows the same path, adding the ending "-ous" to describe something as having the quality of vernacular speech. Its meaning therefore stays close to the source: language that is homegrown, local, and everyday rather than polished or official. The shift from a word for a household-born servant to a word for ordinary speech is the surprising part, and it is worth remembering when you encounter the adjective in older or more literary writing.

Synonyms: vernacular