n.
- Choice and use of words in speech or writing.
- Degree of clarity and distinctness of pronunciation in speech or singing; enunciation.
[Middle English diccion, a saying, word, from Old French, from Latin dictiō, dictiōn-, rhetorical delivery, from dictus, past participle of dīcere, to say, speak.]
dictional dic'tion·al adj.dictionally dic'tion·al·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.