Idiom

Idiom Idiom Idiom By Maeve Maddox Because I’m in the habit of blithely flinging the word idiom about as if everyone should know what I mean by it, this comment from a reader brought me up short: I guess I dont know what an idiom is. The word idiom derives from a Greek word meaning â€Å"appropriate to oneself.† In the context of language, an idiom is a usage peculiar to a particular language. When I use the word idiom, I usually mean one of two things: 1. A construction or usage peculiar to English For example, in English, we state our age with the verb to be: â€Å"I am twenty-one years old.† Speakers of French and Spanish, on the other hand, use their verbs for to have (avoir and tener): â€Å"J’ai vingt-et-un ans.† â€Å"Tengo vientiuno†- literally, â€Å"I have twenty-one years.† These distinctive ways of stating age in different languages are idioms. 2. An expression that means something other than what is expressed by the individual words in it For example, consider the words kick and bucket. The meaning of to kick is â€Å"to thrust out the foot or feet with force.† The meaning of bucket is â€Å"a vessel for catching, holding, or carrying liquids or solids.† Kick and bucket may be used with their denoted meanings: The girl overturned the bucket when she kicked it. The frustrated farmer kicked the bucket down the hill. But the idiom â€Å"to kick the bucket,† conveys a meaning that has nothing obvious to do with kicking or buckets: I don’t want to kick the bucket until I’ve seen Rome. The idiom â€Å"to kick the bucket† means â€Å"to die.† The adjective for idiom is idiomatic. When I say that a particular usage as idiomatic, I mean that it â€Å"sounds right† in English. For example, here are two examples of unidiomatic English from sales letters: UNIDIOMATIC ENGLISH: I have a huge interest in making business with you. IDIOMATIC ENGLISH: I’m very interested in doing business with you. UNIDIOMATIC ENGLISH: On getting an opportunity, I can add value to your content writing solution. IDIOMATIC ENGLISH: Given the opportunity, I can add value to your site content. The word idiom is also used with these meanings: 3. The kind of language and grammar used by a particular people at a particular time or place. So, too, in the expressive language  of Wall Street  do we find illumination of all that has taken place. For in its  idiom  is crystallized the wisdom of a hundred years. 4. The style of writing, music, art, etc. that is typical of a particular time or place. Coplands music was infused with the folk and jazz idioms of America. Related post: Idiomatic English Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Creative Writing 10144 Resume Writing TipsTrooper or Trouper?