patois
Americannoun
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a regional form of a language, especially of French, differing from the standard, literary form of the language.
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a rural or provincial form of speech.
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jargon; cant; argot.
noun
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an unwritten regional dialect of a language, esp of French, usually considered substandard
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the jargon of particular group
Etymology
Origin of patois
1635–45; < French: literally clumsy speech; akin to Old French patoier to handle clumsily, derivative of pate paw
Explanation
The noun patois describes the way you talk, like the patois of New Englanders who tend to drop the letter r: "Drive yah cah to Hahvahd Yahd," while others say, "Drive your car to Harvard Yard." Patois, which rhymes with "voilà," is speech used in a particular region, profession, or group. It is a French word that originated as "rough speech." Examples of patois are found in every region of the world, but perhaps the most famous is Jamaican. "Ah wha dat yuh ah luok pan?," is Jamaican patois for, "What’s that you’re looking at?" Patois is also the "jargon" or "lingo" used by a group, such as musicians whose patois is lost on non-musicians.
Vocabulary lists containing patois
Vivacious Vernacular: Words About Slang
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The Other Wes Moore
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The Sun Is Also a Star
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
To the uninitiated, Bangaranga seems cast in the mould of nonsensical Eurovision songs like Diggi-Lou, Digg-Lay - but the title actually means "uproar" in Jamaican patois.
From BBC • May 17, 2026
The patois changes from office to office and company to company, and the meanings behind certain terms shift from person to person.
From Salon • Feb. 15, 2025
“I went to prison so you won’t have to,” he declared, in a weird, highly caffeinated surfer patois.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 18, 2024
For Green, one of the biggest challenges of a film like “One Love” was getting the patois language right and making it feel real without watering it down.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 18, 2024
They were together constantly, it seemed; they finished each other’s sentences, they talked in a patois of inside jokes and shared references that sometimes she barely understood.
From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
