pidgin
An amalgamation of two disparate languages, used by two populations having no common…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. The speech is slow and supported by mime and gesture.
» The pidgin has no native speakers.
Das Pidgin hat keine Muttersprachler.
Meaning
2 senses(countable, uncountable)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. The speech is slow and supported by mime and gesture.
Pidgin, Pidginsprache, Pidgin-Sprache
пи́джинpídžin
(archaic, countable, idiomatic, uncountable)A person's business, occupation, work, or trade (also spelt as pigeon).
- an artificial language used for trade between speakers of different languages
Examples
15 sentencesThe pidgin has no native speakers.
deDas Pidgin hat keine Muttersprachler. — Esperantostern
A pidgin is an imposed language.
In some cases, pidgin became a first language.
Children don't grow up speaking pidgin languages; they turn them into real languages: creoles.
Pidgins were created because of slavery.
Translations
8 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 1
Origin
From pidgin English, from a Chinese Pidgin English pronunciation of English business durinFrom 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:
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Forms
plural: pidginsSynonyms
1 synonymsWord family
6 related wordsLessons for this word
1 lessons- A1Countable and uncountable nouns — Because it can be uncountable