Definition of "solecism" [sol•e•cism]

• A nonstandard usage or grammatical construction. (noun)
• A violation of etiquette. (noun)
• An impropriety, mistake, or incongruity. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Analogously, in the non-criminal spheres the worst solecism is to be different."
• "Again, to use our old solecism, that is the lesser part of the truth; the greater part, for men of religion, is that Jesus is of God, that He belongs to Him."
• "For what is called a solecism is nothing else than the putting of words together according to a different rule from that which those of our predecessors who spoke with any authority followed."