pidgin

Meaning

Noun

• An amalgamation of two disparate languages, used by two populations having no common language as a lingua franca to communicate with each other, lacking formalized grammar and having a small, utilitarian vocabulary and no native speakers.
• A person's business, occupation, work, or trade (also spelt as pigeon)

Related

Similar words

• baragouin

Origin

• From pidgin English, from a Chinese Pidgin English pronunciation of English business during trade in the Far East.
• All attestations of pidgin from the first half of the nineteenth century given in the third edition of the Oxford English Dictionary mean “business; an action, occupation, or affair” (the earliest being from 1807).
• Other suggested derivations include:
• Hebrew פִּדְיוֹן
• Chinese pronunciation of Portuguese ocupação ("occupation; business")
• South Seas pronunciation of beach
• Portuguese baixo ("low")