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colloquial

used in ordinary conversation

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Where does the word "colloquial" come from? It comes from Latin colloquium, and was adopted directly into English (1750s).

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Where does the word "colloquial" come from? It comes from Latin colloquium, and was adopted directly into English (1750s).

Colloquial’s story begins in Latin: colloquium meant “conversation.” 'com-' plus 'loqui', to speak. It reached English by 1750s as colloquial. 'colloquium' as a seminar dates from the 1800s. Today, colloquial means used in ordinary conversation.

  1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient colloquium "conversation", 'com-' plus 'loqui', to speak.
  2. Stage 2 · English · 1750s colloquial "conversational", 'colloquium' as a seminar dates from the 1800s.

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