jargon

¹jar·gon

noun \ˈjär-gən, -ˌgän\

Definition of JARGON

1

a : confused unintelligible language b : a strange, outlandish, or barbarous language or dialect c : a hybrid language or dialect simplified in vocabulary and grammar and used for communication between peoples of different speech

2

: the technical terminology or characteristic idiom of a special activity or group

3

: obscure and often pretentious language marked by circumlocutions and long words

— jar·gony \-gə-nē, -ˌgä-nē\ adjective

Examples of JARGON

1. medical jargon that the layman cannot understand
2. an academic essay filled with jargon

Origin of JARGON

Middle English, from Anglo-French jargun, gargon

First Known Use: 14th century

Related to JARGON

Synonyms: argot, cant, dialect, terminology, jive, language, lingo, patois, patter, shop, shoptalk, slang, vocabulary

Related Words: colloquial, colloquialism, idiom, localism, parlance, pidgin, provincialism, regionalism, speech, vernacular, vernacularism; slanguage; bureaucratese, computerese, cyberspeak, educationese, governmentese, journalese, technobabble

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Other Language Terms

cognate, collocation, homonym

Rhymes with JARGON

bargain