"The term dialect (from the ancient Greek word \u03B4\u03B9\u03AC\u03BB\u03B5\u03BA\u03C4\u03BF\u03C2 di\u00E1lektos, \"discourse\", from \u03B4\u03B9\u03AC di\u00E1, \"through\" and \u03BB\u03AD\u03B3\u03C9 leg\u014D, \"I speak\") is used in two distinct ways. One usage\u2014the more common among linguists\u2014refers to a variety of a language that is a characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors, such as social class."@en .