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View synonyms for patois

patois

[ pat-wah, pah-twah; French pa-twa ]

noun

, plural pat·ois [pat, -wahz, pah, -twahz, p, a, -, twa].
  1. a regional form of a language, especially of French, differing from the standard, literary form of the language.
  2. a rural or provincial form of speech.
  3. jargon; cant; argot.


patois

/ ˈpætwɑː; patwa /

noun

  1. an unwritten regional dialect of a language, esp of French, usually considered substandard
  2. the jargon of particular group


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Word History and Origins

Origin of patois1

1635–45; < French: literally clumsy speech; akin to Old French patoier to handle clumsily, derivative of pate paw

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Word History and Origins

Origin of patois1

C17: from Old French: rustic speech, perhaps from patoier to handle awkwardly, from patte paw

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Example Sentences

We also listen to the mixing of languages in the sailors’ patois and to the commonality of multilingualism across Europe, Asia, and North Africa.

From Time

Populating the novel is the usual cast of characters, foremost among them the cop shop’s inimitable secretary, Agatino Catarella, who blends obsequiousness, prudery and verbal ineptitude into a patois all his own.

Performers like Renato soon found that if they spoke to the predominantly Spanish-speaking audience in their language as opposed to English or Patois, the crowd would go crazy.

From Time

Rapping in his hometown patois, Roiall brings that authenticity to his videos “Nobody” and “Soda,” which was shot at Half Way Tree in Jamaica.

From Ozy

She talks like her daughter now; everyone does, in that speedy, all-knowing, wisecrack-spattered sitcom patois of Modern Family.

Biderman, who has an amazing ear for dialogue and verbal cues, has the Hollywood patois down pat.

The patois of Saint-Rémy has been developed and expanded into a beautiful literary language.

Jasmin had already shown the Parisians that real poetry of a high order could be written in a patois.

He sympathizes with every attempt, wherever made, the world over, to raise up a patois into a language.

So that the Provençal language, in spite of everything, keeps a certain patois vulgarity.

Some of the hay-makers called to me, but in such barbarous patois, that I could make nothing of them.

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