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Webster 1913 Edition


Diction

Dic′tion

,
Noun.
[L.
dicto
a saying, a word, fr.
dicere
,
dictum
, to say; akin to
dicare
to proclaim, and to E.
teach
,
token
: cf. F.
diction
. See
Teach
, and cf.
Benison
,
Dedicate
,
Index
,
Judge
,
Preach
,
Vengeance
.]
Choice of words for the expression of ideas; the construction, disposition, and application of words in discourse, with regard to clearness, accuracy, variety, etc.; mode of expression; language;
as, the
diction
of Chaucer’s poems
.
Syn.
Diction
,
Style
,
Phraseology
.
Style relates both to language and thought; diction, to language only; phraseology, to the mechanical structure of sentences, or the mode in which they are phrased. The style of Burke was enriched with all the higher graces of composition; his diction was varied and copious; his phraseology, at times, was careless and cumbersome. “Diction is a general term applicable alike to a single sentence or a connected composition. Errors in grammar, false construction, a confused disposition of words, or an improper application of them, constitute bad diction; but the niceties, the elegancies, the peculiarities, and the beauties of composition, which mark the genius and talent of the writer, are what is comprehended under the name of style.”
Crabb.

Webster 1828 Edition


Diction

DICTION

,
Noun.
[L., to speak.] Expression of ideas by words; style; manner of expression.

Definition 2024


diction

diction

English

Noun

diction (countable and uncountable, plural dictions)

  1. The effectiveness and degree of clarity of word choice and expression.

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