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Isogloss

//ˈaɪsə(ʊ̯)ɡlɒs// noun

Definitions

Noun

1
A line on a map indicating the geographical boundaries of a linguistic feature.
"Bloch thinks (and we agree with him) that details of isogloss will probably not bear out this kind of grouping."
2
the locative boundary of a certain linguistic feature, such as the pronunciation of a vowel, the meaning of a word, or use of some syntactic feature. wordnet
3
A linguistic feature shared between languages or language varieties, through any of various mechanisms, whether genetic inheritance or other linguistic forces.
"There was also a tendency to treat transitive verbs passively, as in Hurrian and Urarṭian; it must, however, be emphasized that this phenomenon may also be considered as an isogloss rather than as an indication of genetic relationship."

Etymology

From iso- + gloss, ultimately from Ancient Greek ἴσος (ísos, “equal”) (possibly from Proto-Indo-European *wi- (“to separate”)) + γλῶσσα (glôssa, “tongue; language”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *glōgʰs).

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