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slang - 11 dictionary results

slang

1  [slang]
Use slang in a Sentence
–noun
1. very informal usage in vocabulary and idiom that is characteristically more metaphorical, playful, elliptical, vivid, and ephemeral than ordinary language, as Hit the road.
2. (in English and some other languages) speech and writing characterized by the use of vulgar and socially taboo vocabulary and idiomatic expressions.
3. the jargon of a particular class, profession, etc.
4. the special vocabulary of thieves, vagabonds, etc.; argot.
–verb (used without object)
5. to use slang or abusive language.
–verb (used with object)
6. to assail with abusive language.
Origin:
1750–60; orig. uncert.

Synonyms:
4. cant.

slang

2  [slang]
–verb Nonstandard.
pt. of sling 1 .
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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slang   (slāng)   
n.  
  1. A kind of language occurring chiefly in casual and playful speech, made up typically of short-lived coinages and figures of speech that are deliberately used in place of standard terms for added raciness, humor, irreverence, or other effect.
  2. Language peculiar to a group; argot or jargon: thieves' slang.
v.   slanged, slang·ing, slangs

v.   intr.
  1. To use slang.
  2. To use angry and abusive language: persuaded the parties to quit slanging and come to the bargaining table.
v.   tr.
To attack with abusive language; vituperate.

[Origin unknown.]
slang'i·ly adv., slang'i·ness n., slang'y adj.
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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Slang

Slang\, imp. of Sling. Slung. [Archaic]

Slang

Slang\, n. Any long, narrow piece of land; a promontory. [Local, Eng.] --Holland.

Slang

Slang\, n. [Cf. Sling.] A fetter worn on the leg by a convict. [Eng.]

Slang

Slang\, n. [Said to be of Gypsy origin; but probably from Scand., and akin to E. sling; cf. Norw. sleng a slinging, an invention, device, slengja to sling, to cast, slengja kjeften (literally, to sling the jaw) to use abusive language, to use slang, slenjeord (ord = word) an insulting word, a new word that has no just reason for being.] Low, vulgar, unauthorized language; a popular but unauthorized word, phrase, or mode of expression; also, the jargon of some particular calling or class in society; low popular cant; as, the slang of the theater, of college, of sailors, etc.

Slang

Slang\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Slanged; p. pr. & vb. n. Slanging.] To address with slang or ribaldry; to insult with vulgar language. [Colloq.]

Every gentleman abused by a cabman or slanged by a bargee was bound there and then to take off his coat and challenge him to fisticuffs. --London Spectator.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : slang
Spanish: argot, jerga,
German: die Umgangssprache,
Japanese: 俗語
More Translations »

slang

Expressions that do not belong to standard written English. For example, “flipping out” is slang for “losing one's mind” or “losing one's temper.” Slang expressions are usually inappropriate in formal speech or writing. (See jargon.)

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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slang 
1756, "special vocabulary of tramps or thieves," later "jargon of a particular profession" (1801), of uncertain origin, perhaps from a Scandinavian source, cf. Norw. slengenamn "nickname," slengja kjeften "to abuse with words," lit. "to sling the jaw," related to O.N. slyngva "to sling." But OED, while admitting "some approximation in sense," discounts this connection based on "date and early associations." Sense of "very informal language characterized by vividness and novelty" first recorded 1818. A word that ought to have survived is slangwhanger (1807, Amer.Eng.) "noisy or abusive talker or writer."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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SLANG
1. R.A. Sibley. CACM 4(1):75-84 (Jan 1961).
2. Set LANGuage. Jastrzebowski, ca 1990. C extension with set-theoretic data types and garbage collection. "The SLANG Programming Language Reference Manual, Version 3.3", W. Jastrzebowski , 1990.
3. Structured LANGuage. Michael Kessler, IBM. A language based on structured programming macros for IBM 370 assembly language. "Project RMAG: SLANG (Structured Language) Compiler", R.A. Magnuson, NIH-DCRT-DMB-SSS-UG105, NIH, DHEW, Bethesda, MD 20205 (1980).
4. "SLANG: A Problem Solving Language for Continuous-Model Simulation and Optimisation", J.M. Thames, Proc 24th ACM Natl Conf 1969.

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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