Definition of: vernacular

(vər·nak′yə·lər) noun
1. The native language of a locality.
2. The common daily speech of the people, as opposed to the literary language.
3. The vocabulary or jargon of a particular profession or trade: to speak the medical vernacular.
4. An idiomatic word or phrase.
5. The common name of a plant or animal as distinguished from its scientific designation. See synonyms under LANGUAGE.
—adjective
1. Originating in or belonging to one's native land; indigenous: said of a language, idiom, etc.
2. Using the colloquial native tongue, rather than the literary language: vernacular poets.
3. Written in the language indigenous to a country or people: a vernacular translation of the Bible.
4. Characteristic of a specific locality or country; local: vernacular arts.
5. Rare Peculiar to a particular region; endemic: a vernacular disease.
6. Designating the common name of a plant or animal. [<L vernaculus domestic, native <verna a home–born slave, a native]
—ver·nac′u·lar·ly adverb