"Dialect" meaning in Anglo-Saxon times.

[Molly]

Does anyone know what the word "dialect" meant in Anglo-Saxon times?

[Skrej]

If you're asking what it meant in Anglo-Saxon times, it didn't even exist in English during that period. The Anglo-Saxon period ended in 1066, with the battle of Hastings. Old English, the language of that period, ends at about 1100 A.D.

The word 'dialect' didn't exist until about 1577. It comes from the Middle French 'dialecte', which in turn came from the Latin 'dialectus' meaning "local language, way of speaking, conversation". The Romans borrowed it from the Greek 'dialektos', a variation of 'dialegesthai', meaning to "converse with each other," coming from the Greek words 'dia'- "across, between" + 'legein' "speak".

[Jamie (K)]

[Molly]

Many thanks, Skrej.

[lost_soul]

[Molly]

[lost_soul]

[Skrej]

Ha, my 'teaching filter' kicked in, so I was fairly sure that was what you meant.

And my answer's the same, even when the question's grammatically correct.