Meanings
nounmesolect (plural mesolects)
plural mesolects
- human sciencesA variety of speech that is midway between the acrolect and the basilect.
[...] one characteristic of the mesolect seems to be that it contains, not merely forms from the polar lects, but forms which in function, if not always in phonetic shape, are peculiar to itself.
1973 Sep, Derek Bickerton, “The Nature of a Creole Continuum”, in Language, 49(3), page 642
Origin
Translations
Finnish mesolekti
- mesolektispeech between acrolect and basilect
French mésolecte
- mésolectespeech between acrolect and basilect
German Mesolekt
- Mesolektspeech between acrolect and basilect
Portuguese mesoleto
- mesoletospeech between acrolect and basilect
Spanish mesolecto
- mesolectospeech between acrolect and basilect
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
APA
mesolect. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mesolect
MLA
“mesolect.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mesolect. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “mesolect,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mesolect.
Source: mesolect on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.