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Definition of pidgin - 3 dictionary results

pidg⋅in

  [pij-uhn]
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–noun
1. an auxiliary language that has come into existence through the attempts by the speakers of two 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, esp. when used for communication between speakers of different languages.
Also called contact language.

Origin:
1875–80; extracted from pidgin English
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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pidg·in   (pĭj'ən)   
n.  A simplified form of speech that is usually a mixture of two or more languages, has a rudimentary grammar and vocabulary, is used for communication between groups speaking different languages, and is not spoken as a first or native language. Also called contact language.

[From Pidgin English.]
pidg'in·i·za'tion n., pidg'in·ize' v.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

pidgin 
1876, from pigeon English (1859), the reduced form of the language used in China for communication with Europeans, from pigeon (1826), itself a pidgin word, representing a Chinese pronunciation of business. Meaning extended 1921 to "any simplified language."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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