colloquial

1751, from earlier term colloquy (“a conversation”), from Latin colloquium (“conference, conversation”), from con- (“together”) + loquor (“to speak”), + -al.

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /kəˈləʊ.kwɪəl/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /kəˈloʊ.kwi.əl/

• Audio (Canada):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: col‧lo‧qui‧al

colloquial (comparative more colloquial, superlative most colloquial)

1. (linguistics) Characteristic of familiar conversation, of common parlance; informal.

   You're using too many colloquial words in this cover letter: I suggest changing "I picked up loads of cool skills" to "I acquired many positive abilities"

   The colloquial, and at times sarcastic, tone of her books makes her popular with teenagers.

   • 2024 June 20, Eva Corlett, “Fidlets, fingies and riding a doo: study sheds light on Antarctic English slang”, in The Guardian‎^[1]:

     If you know what it means to be a “fidlet” going for a “jolly” in your “doo”, then you are part of an exclusive club that speaks colloquial Antarctic English.

2. Of or pertaining to a conversation; conversational or chatty.

It is a common misconception that colloquial somehow denotes "local" or a word being "regional". This is not the case; the word root for colloquial is related to locution, not location. A more appropriate word for describing "local" or "regional" language is vernacular.

Note that while colloquy and colloquium refer to formal conversation, colloquial refers instead specifically to informal conversation (casual tone). This does not always mean spoken as opposed to written, but it always means informal as opposed to formal.

• casual
• colloq., coll.

• formal
• professional
• literary
• bookish

• colloquium
• colloquy

• argot
• slang
• vernacular

colloquial (plural colloquials)

1. A colloquial word or phrase, colloquialism.

• colloquialism