Wiktionary

pidgin

English

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Etymology

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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:

Pronunciation

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Noun

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pidgin (countable and uncountable, plural pidgins)

  1. (linguistics) 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.
    Synonym: baragouin
  2. (archaic, idiomatic) A person's business, occupation, work, or trade (also spelt as pigeon).
    • 1950, Robert A. Heinlein, The Man Who Sold the Moon:
      Forget money. That's my pidgin.
    • 2015, Guy Cullingford, Post Mortem:
      It's up to the detective sergeant to ask his own questions, that's not my pidgin. But I did wonder if either of you gentlemen had an idea of the exact time of the shot.

Usage notes

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  • Some pidgins that have developed into creoles nevertheless (confusingly) retain the word "pidgin" in their names.

Derived terms

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Translations

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See also

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References

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  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 John Holmes, An introduction to pidgins and creoles, Cambridge University Press (2000)

Further reading

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Catalan

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Etymology

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Borrowed from English pidgin, from Chinese Pidgin English pidgin, from English business.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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pidgin m (plural pidgins)

  1. pidgin

Further reading

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Polish

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Etymology

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Unadapted borrowing from English pidgin, from pidgin English, from a Chinese Pidgin English pronunciation of English business during trade in the Far East.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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pidgin m inan

  1. (linguistics) Alternative spelling of pidżyn

Declension

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Declension of pidgin
singular plural
nominative pidgin pidginy
genitive pidginu pidginów
dative pidginowi pidginom
accusative pidgin pidginy
instrumental pidginem pidginami
locative pidginie pidginach
vocative pidginie pidginy

Derived terms

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adjective

Further reading

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  • pidgin in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Portuguese

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Pronunciation

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  • Hyphenation: pid‧gin

Noun

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pidgin m (plural pidgins)

  1. (linguistics) pidgin (amalgamation of two languages having no native speakers)

Spanish

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Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈpidxin/ [ˈpið̞.xĩn]
  • Rhymes: -idxin
  • Syllabification: pid‧gin

Noun

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pidgin m (plural pidgins or pidgin)

  1. (linguistics) pidgin (amalgamation of two languages having no native speakers)

Further reading

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