pidgin English
Americannoun
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a pidgin language based on English formerly used in commerce in Chinese ports.
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a similar language used in other areas, such as Papua New Guinea (where it has semiofficial status) and parts of West Africa.
noun
Etymology
Origin of pidgin English
1820–30; pidgin, pigeon < Chinese Pidgin English: business, affair; etymology uncertain, but often alleged to be Chin pronunciation of business
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.
There are versions in local pidgin English, Hausa, Kanuri and Fulani.
From Reuters ● Sep. 21, 2022
They chatted with him about “one lege,” alternatively spelled “one legge,” which Tachie-Menson described as an African dance whose name is derived from pidgin English.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 2, 2022
While walking through a mall in Accra, he overheard a couple chatting in the pidgin English spoken by Cameroon’s Anglophone population and immediately introduced himself.
From The Verge ● Sep. 8, 2020
He reflected their ability to switch from simple English, to bombast, to peer-group slang, to pidgin English and native language.
From BBC ● Feb. 7, 2020
The cool night wind, heavy with the smell of burning, brought clear snatches of the resonating voice speaking pidgin English from a street away.
From "Purple Hibiscus" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
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.
