dog Latin

American  

noun

1. mongrel or spurious Latin.

2. a jargon imitating Latin.

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dog Latin British  

noun

1. spurious or incorrect Latin

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Etymology

Origin of dog Latin

First recorded in 1760–70

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dog Latin

Excellent dog Latin," said Jacques; "and literally translated it signifies: 'Gold from the Governor, Tobacco from the South Side, Asinarian strategy Has brought into his chambers.'

From The Youth of Jefferson A Chronicle of College Scrapes at Williamsburg, in Virginia, A.D. 1764 by Anonymous

It is not dog Latin, but Latin ingeniously italianized, or rather Italian, even Mantuan, latinized.

From Gargantua and Pantagruel, Illustrated, Book 1 by Motteux, Peter Anthony

It was in the same vein as his "Arabian Nights," and contained much curious comment upon many things that we Anglo Saxons do not talk about, save in medical society meetings, and dog Latin.

From Brann the Iconoclast — Volume 10 by Brann, William Cowper

The dog Latin of the Middle Ages had a reason for its creation of the verb denasare.

From The Man Who Laughs by Hugo, Victor

The wit is not enough to carry on the joke through 108 letters, carefully composed in Teutonic dog Latin by the best Latinists north of the Brenner.

From Lectures on Modern history by Acton, John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton, Baron