idiom

Where does the word "idiom" come from? It comes from Greek idioma, passing through French before entering English (1500s).

Idiom’s story begins in Greek: idioma meant “a private or peculiar usage.” A peculiarity of language, from idios (one's own). By 1500s, the word had taken hold in French as idiome. Carried into French for a language's distinctive expressions. It reached English by 1500s as idiom. Settled as the word for an expression whose meaning isn't literal. Today, idiom means a phrase whose meaning cannot be deduced from its individual words.

1. Stage 1 · Greek · ancient idioma "a private or peculiar usage", a peculiarity of language, from idios (one's own).
2. Stage 2 · French · 1500s idiome "a language's distinctive form of expression", carried into French for a language's distinctive expressions.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1500s idiom "a phrase whose meaning isn't literal", settled as the word for an expression whose meaning isn't literal.