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idiom

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Definition of idiom

noun

1a group of words established by usage as having a meaning not deducible from those of the individual words (e.g. over the moon, see the light).
[mass noun] a form of expression natural to a language, person, or group of people:he had a feeling for phrase and idiom
the dialect of a people or part of a country.

2a characteristic mode of expression in music or art:they were both working in a neo-Impressionist idiom

Origin:

late 16th century: from French idiome, or via late Latin from Greek idiōma 'private property, peculiar phraseology', from idiousthai 'make one's own', from idios 'own, private'

idiom in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of idiom in the US English dictionary

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