creole

What it means

1. human sciencesA language formed from two or more languages which has developed from a pidgin to become a first language.

   From the point of view of syntactic analysis, I have shown how transformational theory may be applied to the syntax of a Creole language.

   1966, Beryl Loftman Bailey, Jamaican Creole Syntax, page 144

   2 more examples

   There are three orders of people: those who were alive when the French possessed the island: they understand the good French; those who were born in the heat of the Revolution, and who have arrived at maturity without instruction, these speak only Creole[…]

   1818, The Methodist Magazine, page 317

   To communicate, they evolve a creole called Belter, which becomes the lingua franca for what is essentially the solar system’s new proletariat. […] There is a simple, regular grammar that is typical of creoles.

   2019 December 22, Annalee Newitz and Cyrus Farivar, “Nick Farmer knows dozens of languages, so he invented one for The Expanse”, in Ars Technica

2. historicalAlternative letter-case form of Creole (“person born in a colony”).

   Some of the great merchants in the Indies were creoles, but the majority were peninsulares. These latter acted as effective intermediaries between Spain and the colonies.

   1992, Edwin Williamson, The Penguin history of Latin America, London; New York: Penguin Books, →ISBN, page 131

3. jewelryA style of hoop earrings with a hoop that has an inconsistent thickness and/or is elongated in shape.

In a sentence

There are three orders of people: those who were alive when the French possessed the island: they understand the good French; those who were born in the heat of the Revolution, and who have arrived at maturity without instruction, these speak only Creole[…]

1818, The Methodist Magazine, page 317

Where it comes from

1. Portuguesecrioulo
2. Spanishcriollo
3. Frenchcréole
4. EnglishCreole
5. Englishcreole

See Creole. Attested in English to refer to language from the 18th century.

First known use: 17th c.