colloquial

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 6, 2020 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>colloquial</strong> &#149; \kuh-LOH-kwee-ul\&nbsp; &#149; <em>adjective</em><br /> <p><strong>1 a :</strong> used in or characteristic of <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/familiar#h2">familiar</a> and informal conversation; <em>also</em> <strong>:</strong> unacceptably informal</p> <p><strong>b :</strong> using conversational style</p> <p><strong>2 :</strong> of or relating to conversation <strong>:</strong> <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conversation">conversational</a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>The author can switch from formal academic language to a charmingly <em>colloquial</em> style, depending on the audience and subject of her writing.</p> <p>"The [show's] dialogue is often <em>colloquial</em> and rapid-fire, however, and you may need to switch on the English subtitles fairly frequently. On the other hand, you'll know exactly how to say 'What an idiot!' in French after an episode or two." — <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/11/arts/television/netflix-foreign-films.html">Roslyn Sulcas, <em>The New York Times</em>, 11 May 2020</a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> <p>The noun <em><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/colloquy">colloquy</a></em> was first used in English to refer to a conversation or dialogue, and when the adjective <em>colloquial</em> was formed from <em>colloquy</em> it had a similar focus. Over time, however, <em>colloquial</em> developed a more specific meaning related to language that is most suited to informal conversation—and it ultimately garnered an additional, disparaging implication of a style that seems too informal for a situation. <em>Colloquy</em> and <em>colloquial</em> trace back to the Latin verb <em>colloqui</em>, meaning "to converse." <em>Collo