pidgin

The story

1. Portuguese · derived frombaixo“low”
2. Portuguese · derived fromocupação“occupation; business”
3. Hebrew · borrowed fromפִּדְיוֹן“exchange; trade; redemption”
4. English · derived frombusiness
5. Chinese Pidgin English · borrowed frompidgin
6. English todaypidgin

From pidgin English, from Chinese Pidgin English pidgin, a 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 from the same roots