Longman Dictionary of

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colloquialism
characteristics such as deletion of subject or auxiliaries (e.g. as in “Got the
time?” instead of “Do you have the time?”). Colloquial speech is not necessarily
non-prestige speech and should not be considered as SUBSTANDARD.
Educated native speakers of a language normally use colloquial speech in
informal situations with friends, fellow workers, and members of the family.
see also STYLE
colloquialism n
a word or phrase that is more commonly used in informal speech and
writing. For example boss is a colloquialism for employer.
see also COLLOQUIAL SPEECH
combining form n
a BOUND FORM that can form a new word by combining with another
combining form, a word, or sometimes an AFFIX. For example, the
combining form astr(o)-, ‘star’, can form the word astrology with the
combining form -(o)logy, the word astrophysics with the word physics,
and the word astral with the suffix -al. Groups of MORPHEMES like the
-blooded of warm-blooded or the -making of trouble-making are also
sometimes regarded as combining forms.
see also WORD FORMATION
comment n
see TOPIC 2
comment clause n
a clause which comments on another clause in a sentence. For example:
She is, I believe, a New Zealander.
Coming from you, that sounds surprising
Comment clauses function as ADJUNCTS or disjuncts, and are optional in
the sentence structure.
commissive n
see SPEECH ACT CLASSIFICATION
common core n
(in language teaching) those basic aspects of a language (e.g. vocabulary and
grammar) which a learner needs to know whatever his or her purpose is in
learning the language. When designing a language SYLLABUS ateacher must
decide how much of the language content of the course must be common
core and how much must be directed to the learner’s particular needs, e.g.
for science or business. see also ENGLISH FOR SPECIAL PURPOSES
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