FreeScrabbleDictionary

pidgin

Valid in Scrabble

Scrabble points
10
Words With Friends
13
Letters
6
Pronunciation
/ˈpɪ.d͡ʒɪn/ (UK)
See all 2 pronunciations
/ˈpɪ.d͡ʒɪn/ (UK) · /ˈpɪ.d͡ʒən/ (US)

Definition of pidgin

2 senses · 1 part of speech · etymology included

noun

  1. (countable, uncountable)An amalgamation of two disparate languages, used by two populations having no common language as a lingua franca to communicate with each other, lacking formalized grammar and having a small, utilitarian vocabulary and no native speakers.
    “‘I didnʼt know you can speak pidgin,’ he said and laughed.”
See all 2 definitions

noun

  1. (countable, uncountable)An amalgamation of two disparate languages, used by two populations having no common language as a lingua franca to communicate with each other, lacking formalized grammar and having a small, utilitarian vocabulary and no native speakers.
    “‘I didnʼt know you can speak pidgin,’ he said and laughed.”
  2. (archaic, countable, idiomatic, uncountable)A person's business, occupation, work, or trade (also spelt as pigeon).
    “Forget money. That's my pidgin.”
    “It's up to the detective sergeant to ask his own questions, that's not my pidgin. But I did wonder if either of you gentlemen had an idea of the exact time of the shot.”

Definitions from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.

Etymology

From pidgin English, from a Chinese Pidgin English pronunciation of English business during trade in the Far East. All attestations of pidgin from the first half of the nineteenth century…

See full etymology

From pidgin English, from a Chinese Pidgin English pronunciation of English business during trade in the Far East. All attestations of pidgin from the first half of the nineteenth century given in the third edition of the Oxford English Dictionary mean “business; an action, occupation, or affair” (the earliest being from 1807). Other suggested derivations include: * Hebrew פִּדְיוֹן (pidyón, “exchange; trade; redemption”) * Chinese pronunciation of Portuguese ocupação (“occupation; business”) * South Seas pronunciation of beach * Portuguese baixo (“low”)

Words you can make from pidgin

17 playable · top: PIING (8 pts)

Best play piing 8 points

4-letter words

3 words

3-letter words

9 words

2-letter words

4 words

Hooks

1 extension · 1 back

A single letter you can add to pidgin to make another valid word.

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