isogloss en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (Southern-England) audio
- /ˈaɪsə(ʊ̯)ɡlɒs/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- /ˈaɪsəɡlɑs/ (General-American)
- /ˈʌɪ-/ (Canada)
- /-sə-/ (Canada)
- /ˈaɪsoɡlɒs/ (Canada)
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).
Meanings
-
A line on a map indicating the geographical boundaries of a linguistic feature.
The convergence of multiple isoglosses on a map, a "bundle", indicates a boundary between one regional dialect and another.
2005, Brian D. Joseph, Carol G. Preston, Dennis R. Preston, editors, Language Diversity in Michigan and Ohio: Towards Two State Linguistic Profiles, Ann Arbor, Mich.: Caravan Books, →ISBN, page 29:Bloch thinks (and we agree with him) that details of isogloss will probably not bear out this kind of grouping.
1921, The Calcutta Review, Calcutta: University of Calcutta, →OCLC, page 285:
-
A linguistic feature shared between languages or language varieties, through any of various mechanisms, whether genetic inheritance or other linguistic forces.
PIE and its earliest-attested descendants evince a number of isoglosses with the Semitic languages of West Asia, indicating borrowing in one direction or another.
2025 December 12, Tom Hercules Davies, “Horses, Wheels, Languages: Greek, Mesopotamian and Indic Epic on the Eurasian Steppe”, in The Classical Quarterly, volume 75, number 1, page 13: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.
1970, W[illiam] F[oxwell] Albright, T[homas] O[den] Lambdin, “The Evidence of Language”, in I[orwerth] E[iddon] S[tephen] Edwards, C[yril] J[ohn] Gadd, N[icholas] G[eoffrey] L[emprière] Hammond, editors, The Cambridge Ancient History, 3rd edition, volumes I, part 1 (Prolegomena and Prehistory), Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, published 2000, →ISBN, section IV (Sumerian, Hurrian, Urarṭian, Elamite), page 154:It is likely that the Sardinian forms are related to Lat. afrissa 'dragon lily'. The question regarding its etymology is all but resolved however. It is not quite clear where Pseudo-Apuleius' herbarium [the only known use of afrissa] was composed. If it is North African, as has been proposed, this might be yet another instance of a Sardinian-African Romance isogloss, possibly due to Punic influence.
2025, Cid Swanenvleugel, The Pre-Roman Elements of the Sardinian Lexicon, page 66:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| isoglosses | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
Hyponyms
Joret line · isolex · isophone
Relateds
Synonyms
Translations (48)
hi समवाक (line indicating geographical boundaries of a linguistic feature) · el ισόγλωσσο (line indicating geographical boundaries of a linguistic feature) · la isoglossa (line indicating geographical boundaries of a linguistic feature) · rmf isoglossos (line indicating geographical boundaries of a linguistic feature) · ja 等語線 (line indicating geographical boundaries of a linguistic feature) · gl isoglosa (line indicating geographical boundaries of a linguistic feature) · sv isogloss (line indicating geographical boundaries of a linguistic feature) · ga teoirlíne (line indicating geographical boundaries of a linguistic feature) · tr lehçe sınır çizgisi (line indicating geographical boundaries of a linguistic feature) · nl isoglosse (line indicating geographical boundaries of a linguistic feature) · li isoglos (line indicating geographical boundaries of a linguistic feature) · cs izoglosa (line indicating geographical boundaries of a linguistic feature) · it isoglossa (line indicating geographical boundaries of a linguistic feature) · bg изоглоса (line indicating geographical boundaries of a linguistic feature) · ru изогло́сса (line indicating geographical boundaries of a linguistic feature) · uk ізоглоса (line indicating geographical boundaries of a linguistic feature) · ro isoglosă (line indicating geographical boundaries of a linguistic feature) · da isoglos (line indicating geographical boundaries of a linguistic feature) · fr isoglosse (line indicating geographical boundaries of a linguistic feature) · fi isoglossi (line indicating geographical boundaries of a linguistic feature) · ro izoglosă (line indicating geographical boundaries of a linguistic feature) · sh izoglosa (line indicating geographical boundaries of a linguistic feature) · glk لفظمرز (line indicating geographical boundaries of a linguistic feature) · an isoglosa (line indicating geographical boundaries of a linguistic feature) · es isoglosa (line indicating geographical boundaries of a linguistic feature) · fa مرز همگویی (line indicating geographical boundaries of a linguistic feature) · vls isoglosse (line indicating geographical boundaries of a linguistic feature) · de Isoglosse (line indicating geographical boundaries of a linguistic feature) · pt isoglossa (line indicating geographical boundaries of a linguistic feature) · ko 등어선 (line indicating geographical boundaries of a linguistic feature) · cy isoglos (line indicating geographical boundaries of a linguistic feature) · hy իզոգլոս (line indicating geographical boundaries of a linguistic feature) · hy զուգաբանություն (line indicating geographical boundaries of a linguistic feature) · ca isoglossa (line indicating geographical boundaries of a linguistic feature) · af isoglos (line indicating geographical boundaries of a linguistic feature) · br izoglos (line indicating geographical boundaries of a linguistic feature) · sh изоглоса (line indicating geographical boundaries of a linguistic feature) · cmn 同言線 /同言线 (line indicating geographical boundaries of a linguistic feature) · hu izoglossza (line indicating geographical boundaries of a linguistic feature) · be ізаглоса (line indicating geographical boundaries of a linguistic feature) · pdc Isoglosse (line indicating geographical boundaries of a linguistic feature) · id isoglos (line indicating geographical boundaries of a linguistic feature) · hy զուգաձայն (line indicating geographical boundaries of a linguistic feature) · cv изоглосса (line indicating geographical boundaries of a linguistic feature) · no isogloss (line indicating geographical boundaries of a linguistic feature) · pl izoglosa (line indicating geographical boundaries of a linguistic feature) · eu isoglosa (line indicating geographical boundaries of a linguistic feature) · sc isoglossa (line indicating geographical boundaries of a linguistic feature)