Researched Word: Vernacular

Since I come from a country with a native language, Gaelige, I am always hearing the word vernacular. When I found it in the text, I knew it had to be researched. It sounds so medical, for a word that typically pertains to one’s native tongue. As it’s a word derived from the Latin for “native”, I think it’s interesting that it wound up describing native languages, as opposed to natives of a particular country. I found this definition on Merriam Webster’s site:

Main Entry: ver·nac·u·lar
Pronunciation: \və(r)-ˈna-kyə-lər\
Function: adjective
Etymology: Latin vernaculus native, from verna slave born in the master's house, native
Date: 1601
1 a: using a language or dialect native to a region or country rather than a literary, cultured, or foreign language b: of, relating to, or being a nonstandard language or dialect of a place, region, or country c: of, relating to, or being the normal spoken form of a language
2: applied to a plant or animal in the common native speech as distinguished from the Latin nomenclature of scientific classification
3: of, relating to, or characteristic of a period, place, or group; especially: of, relating to, or being the common building style of a period or place
— ver·nac·u·lar·ly adverb

Reference: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vernacular