Beach-la-Mar

[ beech-luh-mahr ]
/ ˌbitʃ ləˈmɑr /

noun

Neo-Melanesian.

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Origin of Beach-la-Mar

alteration of bêche-de-mer a well-known trade item in the region where this type of pidgin is spoken

Definition for beach-la-mar (2 of 2)

Neo-Melanesian
[ nee-oh-mel-uh-nee-zhuh n, -shuh n ]
/ ˌni oʊˌmɛl əˈni ʒən, -ʃən /

noun

a pidgin language based on English and spoken in Melanesia, New Guinea, and NE Australia.
Also called Beach-la-mar, bêche-de-mer.

Origin of Neo-Melanesian

First recorded in 1960–65
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

British Dictionary definitions for beach-la-mar (1 of 2)

Beach-la-Mar
/ (ˌbiːtʃləˈmɑː) /

noun

an English-based creole language spoken in Vanuatu and Fiji, and formerly much more widespreadAlso called: Biche-la-mar

Word Origin for Beach-la-Mar

C19: quasi-French, from bêche-de-mer (trepang, this being a major trading commodity in the SW Pacific; hence the name was applied to the trading language)

British Dictionary definitions for beach-la-mar (2 of 2)

Neo-Melanesian

noun

an English-based creole language widely spoken in the SW Pacific, with borrowings from other languages, esp MotuAlso called: Beach-la-Mar
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012