solecism
noun
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The city of Soloi had a reputation for bad grammar. Located in Cilicia, an ancient coastal nation in Asia Minor, it was populated by Athenian colonists called soloikoi (literally "inhabitants of Soloi"). According to historians, the colonists of Soloi allowed their native Athenian Greek to be corrupted and started using words incorrectly. As a result, soloikos gained a new meaning: "speaking incorrectly." The Greeks used that sense as the basis of soloikismos, meaning "an ungrammatical combination of words." That root, in turn, gave rise to the Latin soloecismus, the direct ancestor of the English word solecism. Nowadays, solecism can refer to social blunders as well as sloppy syntax.
Synonyms
- familiarity
- faux pas
- gaff
- gaffe
- impropriety
- indiscretion
Example Sentences
Ben Zimmer, The Atlantic, 8 Dec. 2017 But the songwriter Tony Hatch has said he was inspired by Times Square—a solecism forgivable from a Brit. Peter Schjeldahl, The New Yorker, 13 Feb. 2017 Solecism slipped into solipsism into full-blown narcissistic projection. Dana Goodyear, The New Yorker, 26 Jan. 2017 Word History
Latin soloecismus, from Greek soloikismos, from soloikos speaking incorrectly, literally, inhabitant of Soloi, from Soloi, city in ancient Cilicia where a substandard form of Attic was spoken
circa 1555, in the meaning defined at sense 1
solecisms
noun
Synonyms & Similar Words
- blunders
- mistakes
- errors
- indiscretions
- improprieties
- gaffes
- offences
- familiarities
- gaffs
- incivilities
- faux pas
- miscues
- discourtesies
- flubs
- goofs
- offenses
- oversights
- missteps
- slipups
- howlers
- lapses
- misapprehensions
- misjudgments
- misstatements
- misunderstandings
- fumbles
- miscalculations
- misconceptions
- foul-ups
- stumbles
- boners
- slips
- muffs
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- gestures
- formalities
- manners
- civilities
- attentions
- amenities
- courtesies
- pleasantries
- forms
- mores
- proprieties