Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A geographic boundary line delimiting the area in which a given linguistic feature occurs.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A line indicating the geographical boundaries of a linguistic feature on a map.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[iso– + Greek glōssa, language, tongue.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From iso- +‎ Ancient Greek γλῶσσα.

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Examples

  • Hence, the term isogloss, from iso - ` same '+ gloss

    VERBATIM: The Language Quarterly Vol XI No 3 1984

  • Gimbutas academia algonquian arabic assyrian athabaskan bureaucracy celtic credentialism crete dictionary elamite esperanto feminism gender geography isogloss language hat languages logic mandarin maya mediterranean mycenaean north caucasian persian phonetics proto-steppe racism sanskrit senet venetic

    A little note on Etruscan adjectives and case agreement 2010

  • Gimbutas academia algonquian arabic assyrian athabaskan bureaucracy celtic credentialism crete dictionary elamite esperanto feminism gender geography isogloss language hat languages logic mandarin maya mediterranean mycenaean north caucasian persian phonetics proto-steppe racism sanskrit senet venetic

    Sowing wild oats and plowing the fields 2010

  • Gimbutas academia algonquian arabic assyrian athabaskan bureaucracy celtic credentialism crete dictionary elamite esperanto feminism gender geography isogloss language hat languages logic mandarin maya mediterranean mycenaean north caucasian persian phonetics proto-steppe racism sanskrit senet venetic

    Blogger reluctantly fights spam 2010

  • Gimbutas academia algonquian arabic assyrian athabaskan bureaucracy celtic credentialism crete dictionary elamite esperanto feminism gender geography isogloss language hat languages logic mandarin maya mediterranean mycenaean north caucasian persian phonetics proto-steppe racism sanskrit senet venetic

    Pondering on the phrase 'capite velato' 2010

  • Gimbutas academia algonquian arabic assyrian athabaskan bureaucracy celtic credentialism crete dictionary elamite esperanto feminism gender geography isogloss language hat languages logic mandarin maya mediterranean mycenaean north caucasian persian phonetics proto-steppe racism sanskrit senet venetic

    A new post on Pre-Greek place-names 2010

  • The isogloss boundaries are much clearer in the full sized version Picasa automatically shrank it.

    The PIE and Pre-PIE pronominal system from the perspective of a wave model 2009

  • As they expanded, they began, for inscrutable Frankish reasons, to devoice word-final obstruents this is the blue isogloss, thereby establishing Frankish as its own distinct, highly conservative dialect.

    The PIE and Pre-PIE pronominal system from the perspective of a wave model 2009

  • I made this simple isogloss map to show at a glance how I would explain Proto-Steppe's development into the later proto-languages known and studied and it relates, as always, to the unpixelated view of the Wave Model of language change.

    Prehistoric isoglosses in Proto-Steppe 2009

  • I made this simple isogloss map to show at a glance how I would explain Proto-Steppe's development into the later proto-languages known and studied and it relates, as always, to the unpixelated view of the Wave Model of language change.

    Archive 2009-10-01 2009

Comments

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  • A line drawn on a map to indicate the boundary where one sound or word stops being used and another begins to be used in its place.

    June 20, 2007

  • I'd imagine these would be relatively fluid and/or overlapping?

    June 20, 2007

  • Why are some of the prettiest words the ones I'll never, ever-ever-ever find occasion to use? *weeps*

    September 10, 2008

  • Sure you will! Just walk around today finding excuses to use isogloss. It's a cinch! :-)

    September 10, 2008

  • As in, Oh, Dr. Goodword, I'm so sorry I offended you with my suffixes. Apparently, the -ie isogloss just skirts your castle.

    September 10, 2008

  • *snort*

    Pro, you're a gem.

    September 11, 2008