R. A. Hall, born 1911
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The History of Pidgin
The history of pidgin begins in the early 19th century in the South China city of Guangzhou. Chinese merchants interacting with English speakers on the docks in this port adopted and modified the word business in a way that, by century's end, had become pidgin. The word itself then became the descriptor of the unique communication used by people who speak different languages. Pidgins generally consist of small vocabularies (Chinese Pidgin English has only 700 words), but some have grown to become a group's native language. Examples include Sea Island Creole (spoken in
Examples of pidgin in a Sentence
Christopher Elliott, Forbes.com, 23 May 2026
Fontana would write dialogue for the character in American vernacular, and Akinnuoye-Agbaje would translate it into Nigerian pidgin.
—Molly Lambert, Vulture, 20 Apr. 2026
The children speak in a sort of wise and frightening pidgin.
—Literary Hub, 10 Feb. 2026
Rosalyn speaks French, pidgin Arabic and is currently learning to fly a plane.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for pidgin
Cite this Entry
“Pidgin.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pidgin. Accessed 11 Jun. 2026.
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pidgin
noun
