argot means A secret language or conventional slang peculiar to thieves, tramps and vagabonds.
argot is pronounced /ˈɑːɡəʊ/.
Why “argot” is a great word
A specialized, often secret, vocabulary developed and used by a particular group, originally and notably among criminals. Borrowed from French argot, of unknown origin; first attested in English in 1825. Unlike jargon, which neutrally denotes the technical terminology of a profession, or slang, which broadly signals informal, cultural currency, argot carries the chill of the furtive and the exclusive, born from necessity and suspicion. It is the coded mutter in a crowded marketplace, the chalk mark on a doorframe fading in the rain, the knowing glance exchanged over a prison-yard card game—language not just spoken, but wielded as both shield and key.
Etymology
Borrowed from French argot, of unknown origin.
noun
- A secret language or conventional slang peculiar to thieves, tramps and vagabonds.“Sadie had, in the argot of the day, a really good built.”
- The specialized informal vocabulary and terminology used between people with special skill in a field, such as between doctors, mathematicians or hackers.“The conversation was in the argot of the trade, full of acronyms and abbreviations that made no sense to the uninitiate.”
- A strongly marked style of speaking.“Merle spoke in the thin nasal argot of this city's slums: "This the fus toim yez been lobbed, oy, kiddow?"”
- An inhabitant or resident of Argos.
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