pidgin means 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. It carries an Arena rating of 1643, earned across 3 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, pidgin ranks #275 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #1,439 of 17,104 for Most Storied Words, #1,475 of 17,143 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words, #1,902 of 17,132 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound.
pidgin is pronounced /ˈpɪ.d͡ʒɪn/.
Why “pidgin” is a great word
A simplified contact language that develops between groups with no common tongue, typically for trade, characterized by a limited vocabulary, rudimentary grammar, and no native speakers. From Pidgin English, representing a Chinese Pidgin English pronunciation of the English word 'business' during 19th-century trade in the Far East; the earliest attested meaning (from 1807) was 'business, affair.' Unlike a creole, which is a pidgin evolved into a stable, full-fledged native tongue, or a lingua franca, which can be a complete, pre-existing language, a pidgin is a makeshift scaffold, born of pure necessity. It is the urgent negotiation on a bustling dock, the bartered price gestured over a crate of spices, the shared, functional fragments that allow a ship to be loaded and a deal to be struck—the stark, beautiful evidence that where human need meets, a bridge, however rough-hewn, will be thrown across the void.
Etymology
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 (pidyón, “exchange; trade; redemption”) * Chinese pronunciation of Portuguese ocupação (“occupation; business”) * South Seas pronunciation of beach * Portuguese baixo (“low”)
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. The speech is slow and supported by mime and gesture.e.g.“‘I didnʼt know you can speak pidgin,’ he said and laughed.” — 2019, Chigozie Obioma, An Orchestra of Minorities, Abacus (2019), page 79:
- A person's business, occupation, work, or trade (also spelt as pigeon).e.g.“Forget money. That's my pidgin.” — 1950, Robert A. Heinlein, The Man Who Sold the Moon:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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