pidgin

American  

[pij-uhn] / ˈpɪdʒ ən /

noun

• pidgins
  plural

1. an auxiliary language that has come into existence through the attempts by the speakers of two or more different languages to communicate and that is primarily a simplified form of one of the languages, with a reduced vocabulary and grammatical structure and considerable variation in pronunciation.

2. (loosely) any simplified or broken form of a language, especially when used for communication between speakers of different languages.

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pidgin British  

/ ˈpɪdʒɪn /

noun

1. a language made up of elements of two or more other languages and used for contacts, esp trading contacts, between the speakers of other languages. Unlike creoles, pidgins do not constitute the mother tongue of any speech community

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• pidgins
  plural

Etymology

Origin of pidgin

First recorded in 1875–80; extracted from pidgin English

Explanation

A pidgin is a simplified language that is usually formed from elements of two different languages — allowing basic communication between groups of people who don't share a common tongue. If you're visiting Mexico but you don't speak Spanish, you may use a kind of pidgin to talk to locals — a combination of Spanish and English. Or the locals may speak a pidgin version of English to communicate with you. Most pidgins include various elements of different languages in addition to the primary source of vocabulary — but they're all made up. The word pidgin is thought to derive from a Chinese pronunciation of the word business as "bigeon" and eventually "pidgin."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pidgin pidgins

"To communicate, the Africans borrowed some vocabulary from the British and incorporated their own pronunciation and syntax to form a pidgin thing. Over the generations, it became perfected and developed structure and grammar."

From BBC ● Feb. 15, 2025

Trying to free herself, she began to write in Hawaiian pidgin, a language she both grew up surrounded by and was told by others — including her mother — to avoid out in the world.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 18, 2023

Wale and other lawmakers spoke at length, using a mixture of English, the official language, and the commonly spoken Melanesian pidgin.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 5, 2021

Sometimes called pidgin English, the language is widely used and understood across regions and ethnic groups in the nation of 200 million people, although most books and newspapers on sale in Nigeria are in English.

From Reuters ● Jul. 14, 2021

“Pidgin they expect, and pidgin they’ll listen to. But English from me they don’t listen to, and so they don’t understand it.”

From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck

His father, Derek Bickerton, an influential linguist specializing in pidgins and creoles, had a Ph.D. from Cambridge University but called himself a “card-carrying autodidact.”

From New York Times ● Dec. 17, 2022

It’s not all bad; I’ve got a whole new suite of creoles and pidgins that I’m enjoying, plus they’ve given me contractions.

From Slate ● Aug. 27, 2018

The traditional idea that creoles come from pidgins may be fascinating, but it risks seeming condescending—by positing that creoles have simpler grammars as a result.

From Economist ● Feb. 1, 2018

There were also, among others, 1,440 speakers of Somali and 370 of "Creoles and pidgins."

From Seattle Times ● May 15, 2012

When you and your friends come flyin' in at first-floor windows like pidgins, Mr. Ventimore, you must expect some notice to be took.

From The Brass Bottle A Farcical Fantastic Play in Four Acts by F. Anstey

Related Words

• argot
• jargon
• lingo
• patois
• vernacular