Meanings
plural pidgins
- countableuncountablehuman sciencesAn 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. The speech is slow and supported by mime and gesture.
‘I didnʼt know you can speak pidgin,’ he said and laughed.
2019, Chigozie Obioma, An Orchestra of Minorities, Abacus (2019), page 79Synonyms: baragouin
- archaiccountableidiomaticuncountableA person's business, occupation, work, or trade (also spelt as pigeon).
Forget money. That's my pidgin.
1950, Robert A. Heinlein, The Man Who Sold the Moon1 more example
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.
2015, Guy Cullingford, Post Mortem
Synonyms & antonyms
nounAn 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. The speech is slow and supported by mime and gesture.
Origin
- Portuguesebaixo“low”
- Portugueseocupação“occupation; business”
- Hebrewפִּדְיוֹן“exchange; trade; redemption”
- Englishbusiness
- Chinese Pidgin Englishpidgin
- Englishpidgin
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”)
More words from Chinese Pidgin English, English, Hebrew
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian пи́джин
- пи́джин (pídžin)amalgamation of two languages having no native speakers
Catalan pidgin
- pidginamalgamation of two languages having no native speakers
Chinese Mandarin 皮欽語 /皮钦语, 混雜語言 /混杂语言
- 皮欽語 /皮钦语 (píqīnyǔ)amalgamation of two languages having no native speakers
- 混雜語言 /混杂语言 (hùnzá yǔyán)amalgamation of two languages having no native speakers
Danish pidgin, pidginsprog
- pidginamalgamation of two languages having no native speakers
- pidginsprogamalgamation of two languages having no native speakers
Esperanto piĝino
- piĝinoamalgamation of two languages having no native speakers
Finnish pidgin
- pidginamalgamation of two languages having no native speakers
French pidgin, créole
- pidginamalgamation of two languages having no native speakers
- créoleamalgamation of two languages having no native speakers
- langue véhiculaireamalgamation of two languages having no native speakers
German Pidgin, Pidginsprache
- Pidginamalgamation of two languages having no native speakers
- Pidginspracheamalgamation of two languages having no native speakers
- Pidgin-Spracheamalgamation of two languages having no native speakers
Irish nasctheanga
- nasctheangaamalgamation of two languages having no native speakers
Italian pidgin
- pidginamalgamation of two languages having no native speakers
Japanese ピジン言語
- ピジン言語 (pijin gengo)amalgamation of two languages having no native speakers
Māori kōrapurapu, reo kōrapurapu
- kōrapurapuamalgamation of two languages having no native speakers
- reo kōrapurapuamalgamation of two languages having no native speakers
Norwegian Bokmål pidgin, pidginspråk
- pidginamalgamation of two languages having no native speakers
- pidginspråkamalgamation of two languages having no native speakers
Polish pidgin, pidżin
- pidginamalgamation of two languages having no native speakers
- pidżinamalgamation of two languages having no native speakers
- pidżynamalgamation of two languages having no native speakers
Portuguese pidgin
- pidginamalgamation of two languages having no native speakers
Russian пи́джин
- пи́джин (pídžin)amalgamation of two languages having no native speakers
Spanish pidgin
- pidginamalgamation of two languages having no native speakers
Swahili pijini
- pijiniamalgamation of two languages having no native speakers
Swedish pidgin, pidginspråk
- pidginamalgamation of two languages having no native speakers
- pidginspråkamalgamation of two languages having no native speakers
Tamil பிட்யின்
- பிட்யின் (piṭyiṉ)amalgamation of two languages having no native speakers
Thai พิดจิน
- พิดจิน (pid-jin)amalgamation of two languages having no native speakers
Turkish pidgin
- pidginamalgamation of two languages having no native speakers
Vietnamese pít-gin
- pít-ginamalgamation of two languages having no native speakers
Welsh pijin
- pijinamalgamation of two languages having no native speakers
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with pidgin
All rhymes →Sounds the same
Cite this entry
pidgin. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pidgin
“pidgin.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pidgin. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pidgin,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pidgin.
Source: pidgin on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.