vernacular
ver·nac·u·lar/vɚˈnækjəlɚ/noun, adjective
vernacular is spelled V-E-R-N-A-C-U-L-A-R: 10 letters and 4 syllables (ver·nac·u·lar). It appears 1.7 times per million words in written English, the 21,516th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, vernacular means “The language of a people or a national language” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of vernacular is vernaculars.
How many letters and syllables are in vernacular?
| Letters | 10: V-E-R-N-A-C-U-L-A-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4: ver·nac·u·lar |
| In writing | 1.7 times per million words; the 21,516th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is vernacular?
Vernacular appears 1.7 times per million words in written English, the 21,516th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce vernacular?
- UK /vəˈnækjələ/
- UK /vəˈnækjʊlə/
- US /vɚˈnækjəlɚ/
Vernacular has 4 syllables, split ver·nac·u·lar in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-vernacular.ogg, En-au-vernacular.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with vernacular?
2 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as vernacular from its last stressed vowel (/ækjələɹ/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of vernacular
- vernaculars plural
- more vernacular comparative
- most vernacular superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does vernacular mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The language of a people or a national language.
The principal vernacular of the United States is English.
- 2
Everyday speech or dialect, including colloquialisms, as opposed to standard, literary, liturgical, or scientific idiom.
Near-synonyms: basilect, demotic
- 3
Language unique to a particular group of people.
Near-synonyms: jargon, argot, dialect, slang
- 4
A language lacking standardization or a written form.
- 5
Indigenous spoken language, as distinct from a literary or liturgical language such as Ecclesiastical Latin.
Vatican II, a church council in the 1960s, allowed the celebration of the mass in the vernacular.
- 6
A style of architecture involving local building materials and styles; not imported.
adjective
- 1
Of or pertaining to everyday language, as opposed to standard, literary, liturgical, or scientific idiom.
Near-synonyms: common, everyday, indigenous, ordinary, vulgar, colloquial, basilectal, demotic
- 2
Belonging to the country of one's birth; one's own by birth or by nature.
Near-synonyms: native, indigenous; endemic
- 3
Of or related to local building materials and styles; not imported.
- 4
Connected to a collective memory; not imported.
- 5
Not attempting to use the rules of a taxonomic code, especially, not using scientific Latin.
An English vernacular name for Rosa multiflora is multiflora rose.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Vernacular in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | langue nationale , vernaculaire , dialecte, idiome, patois , langue vulgaire |
| German | Nationalsprache , Umgangssprache, Vernakularsprache, Vernakulärsprache, Volksmund , Dialekt |
| Portuguese | vernáculo , fala , vernacular |
| Spanish | idioma, dialecto , lengua vernácula , vernáculo |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does vernacular come from?
From Latin vernāculus (“domestic, indigenous, of or pertaining to home-born slaves”), from verna (“a native, a home-born slave (one born in his master's house)”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).