diastratic

D2I1A1S1T1R1A1T1I1C3

adjective

Concerned with or relating to the ways in which language varies across social, cultural or educational factors.

“a diastratic usage label”

Scrabble 13

Meanings

adjectivediastratic (not comparable)
  1. not comparablehuman sciencesConcerned with or relating to the ways in which language varies across social, cultural or educational factors.

    a diastratic usage label

    2 more examples

    According to Hausmann (1977, Ch. 8), lexically relevant units can receive — typically by means of labels or usage notes — any or all of the following types of diasystematic marking: diachronic (e.g. archaic, neologism); diatopic (e.g. American English for elevator 'lift', British English for loo); diaintegrative for foreign borrowings used in English (e.g. German for Weltanschauung); diastratic (e.g. informal for loo, formal for perambulator); diaconnotative (e.g. from Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary (W9), often used disparagingly for dyke); diatechnical (e.g. law for tort, anatomy for clavicle; diafrequential (e.g. rare); dianormative (e.g. substandard for ain't).

    1991, “Lexicography”, in Kirsten Malmkjær, editor, The Linguistics Encyclopedia, London; New York, N.Y.: Routledge, →ISBN, page 295, column 2

    The eschewing of Grantha letters despite their widespread use in modern Tamil, and the unnecessary diastratic and dianormative labelling of many common items as 'non-standard', echo traditional views that the language needs to be 'protected' against the innovations of ordinary everyday speech.

    2000, Gregory James, Colporuḷ: A History of Tamil Dictionaries, Chennai: Cre-A, →ISBN, page 266

Origin

Cite this entry
APA

diastratic. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/diastratic

MLA

“diastratic.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/diastratic. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “diastratic,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/diastratic.

Source: diastratic on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.