diglossia

UK:*UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/daɪˈglɒsɪə/US:USA pronunciation: respellingUSA pronunciation: respelling(dī glos′ē ə, -glô′sē ə)


WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
di•glos•si•a  (dī glos′ē ə, -glô′sē ə),USA pronunciation n. 
  1. Linguisticsthe widespread existence within a society of sharply divergent formal and informal varieties of a language each used in different social contexts or for performing different functions, as the existence of Katharevusa and Demotic in modern Greece.
  2. Pathologythe presence of two tongues or of a single tongue divided into two parts by a cleft.
  • 1955–60; Latinization of French diglossie, equivalent. to Greek díglōss(os) speaking two languages (see diglot) + French -ie -y3
di•glos•sic  (dī glos′ik),USA pronunciation adj. 

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