jargon

¹ American  

[jahr-guhn, -gon] / ˈdʒɑr gən, -gɒn /

noun

1. the language, especially the vocabulary, peculiar to a particular trade, profession, or group.

   medical jargon.

2. unintelligible or meaningless talk or writing; gibberish.

   Synonyms:

   twaddle, gabble, babble

3. any talk or writing that one does not understand.

4. pidgin.

5. language that is characterized by uncommon or pretentious vocabulary and convoluted syntax and is often vague in meaning.

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verb (used without object)

1. to speak in or write jargon; jargonize.

jargon ² American  

[jahr-gon] / ˈdʒɑr gɒn /

Also jargoon

noun

1. a colorless to smoky gem variety of zircon.

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jargon ¹ British  

/ dʒɑːˈɡuːn, ˈdʒɑːɡɒn /

noun

1. rare mineralogy a golden yellow, smoky, or colourless variety of zircon

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jargon ² British  

/ ˈdʒɑːɡən /

noun

1. specialized language concerned with a particular subject, culture, or profession

2. language characterized by pretentious syntax, vocabulary, or meaning

3. gibberish

4. another word for pidgin

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verb

1. (intr) to use or speak in jargon

jargon Cultural  

1. A special language belonging exclusively to a group, often a profession. Engineers, lawyers, doctors, tax analysts, and the like all use jargon to exchange complex information efficiently. Jargon is often unintelligible to those outside the group that uses it. For example, here is a passage from a computer manual with the jargon italicized: “The RZ887-x current loop interface allows the computer to use a centronics blocked duplex protocol.” (See slang.)

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Related Words

See language.

Other Word Forms

• jargoneer noun
• jargonist noun
• jargonistic adjective
• jargony adjective

Etymology

Origin of jargon¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English jargoun, from Middle French; Old French jargon, gargun, derivative of an unrecorded expressive base garg- designating the throat and its functions, as in gargle, gargoyle

Origin of jargon²

First recorded in 1760–70; from French, from Italian giargone, of uncertain origin; perhaps ultimately from Persian zargūn “gold-colored” ( zircon ( def. ) ), equivalent to zar “gold” ( arsenic ( def. ), gold ( def. ), yellow ( def. ) ) + gūn “color”; alternatively, perhaps akin to Old French jacincte, also jacunces, jargonce jacinth ( def. )

Example Sentences

The amount of time films are available exclusively in theaters — known as “windowing” in industry jargon — has become a contentious topic of conversation in Hollywood.

From Los Angeles Times

Plus, why Gen Z is unprepared for the workplace and the corporate jargon that WSJ readers hate most.

From The Wall Street Journal

Plus, a growing heart-attack risk, the corporate jargon we hate and the return of the neighborhood tavern.

From The Wall Street Journal

Other topics we look at include the growing health risk for people under 55, family money meetings and the corporate jargon that annoys you most.

From The Wall Street Journal

There’s so much jargon, and things are constantly happening.

From MarketWatch

Related Words

• argot
• idiom
• lingo
• parlance
• patois
• slang
• vernacular
• vocabulary