diglossia

[ dahy-glos-ee-uh, -glaw-see-uh ]
/ daɪˈglɒs i ə, -ˈglɔ si ə /

noun

the widespread existence within a society of sharply divergent formal and informal varieties of a language each used in different social contexts or for performing different functions, as the existence of Katharevusa and Demotic in modern Greece.
Pathology. the presence of two tongues or of a single tongue divided into two parts by a cleft.

Origin of diglossia

1955–60; Latinization of French diglossie, equivalent to Greek díglōss(os) speaking two languages (see diglot) + French -ie -y3

OTHER WORDS FROM diglossia

di·glos·sic [dahy-glos-ik] /daɪˈglɒs ɪk/, adjective

British Dictionary definitions for diglossic

diglossia
/ (daɪˈɡlɒsɪə) /

noun

linguistics the existence in a language of a high, or socially prestigious, and a low, or everyday, form, as German and Swiss German in Switzerland

Word Origin for diglossia

C20: New Latin, via French, from Greek diglōssos speaking two languages: see diglot

Medical definitions for diglossic

diglossia
[ dī-glŏsē-ə ]

n.

bifid tongue