slang

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to navigation Jump to search
See also: Slang and släng

English[edit]

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

1756, meaning "special vocabulary of tramps or thieves", origin unknown. Possibly derived from a North Germanic source, related to Norwegian Nynorsk slengenamn (“nickname”), slengja kjeften (“to abuse verbally”, literally “to sling one's jaw”), related to Icelandic slengja (“to sling, throw, hurl”), Old Norse slyngva (“to sling”). Not believed to be connected with language or lingo.

Noun[edit]

slang (countable and uncountable, plural slangs)

  1. Language outside of conventional usage and in the informal register.
    • 1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 26, in The History of Pendennis. […], volumes (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1849–1850, →OCLC:
      She was amused by his talk, which was simple, straightforward, rather humorous and keen, and interspersed with homely expressions of a style which is sometimes called slang.
    • 1996, James Lambert, The Macquarie Book of Slang, Sydney: Macquarie Library, page v:
      English-speaking Australians have always had a love affair with slang.
  2. Language that is unique to a particular profession or subject; jargon.
  3. The specialized language of a social group, sometimes used to conceal one's meaning from outsiders; cant.
    • 1871, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], chapter XI, in Middlemarch […], volume I, Edinburgh, London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC, book I, page 172:
      "Oh, there are so many superior teas and sugars now. Superior is getting to be shopkeepers' slang. / "Are you beginning to dislike slang, then?" said Rosamond, with mild gravity. / "Only the wrong sort. All choice of words is slang. It marks a class." / "There is correct English: that is not slang." / "I beg your pardon: correct English is the slang of prigs who write history and essays. And the strongest slang of all is the slang of poets."
  4. (countable) A particular variety of slang; the slang used by a particular group.
    • 2023, Jonathon Green, Green’s Dictionary of Slang‎[1]:
      [F]or a detailed analysis see Liberman (2008 157ff) who sees it as one of a number of terms found in pan-European slangs meaning concealment and/or cheating.
  6. (countable) An item of slang; a slang word or expression.
    • 1921, Horace Fish, The Great Way: A Story of the Joyful, the Sorrowful, the Glorious, New York: Mitchell Kennerley:
      Anyway, I have learned many slangs while I am in New York, and one of them, a remarkable slang, is sheister.
    • 2019, Hendi Pratama, Linguistic Politeness in Online Communication, Semarang: LPPS Unnes:
      The internet comes up with so many slangs used by people to survive in the online world. Many of those slangs are in the form of abbreviations, for instance, the word "u" which refers to "you"[.]
  7. (countable, India) A curse word.
    • 2021, Sadan Jha, Dev Nath Pathak, Amiya Kumar Das, Neighbourhoods in Urban India: In Between Home and the City, page 82:
      Such attempts were made even more aggressive by the fact that these local women were known for picking fights easily and using slangs to verbally abuse their neighbours.
Usage notes[edit]

Sense 5 is rare among native English speakers, although it may be common among non-native speakers.

Synonyms[edit]
Derived terms[edit]
Descendants[edit]
  • → Dutch: slang
  • → Esperanto: slango
  • → Estonian: släng
  • → Finnish: slangi
  • → German: Slang
  • → Hebrew: סְלֶנְג (sleng)
  • → Hungarian: szleng
  • → Indonesian: slank
  • → Polish: slang
Translations[edit]
jargon — see jargon
cant — see cant
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Verb[edit]

slang (third-person singular simple present slangs, present participle slanging, simple past and past participle slanged)

  1. (transitive, dated) To vocally abuse, or shout at.
    • 1888, Rudyard Kipling, “Miss Youghal's Sais”, in Plain Tales from the Hills, Folio Society, published 2007, page 26:
      Also, he had to keep his temper when he was slanged in the theatre porch by a policeman.
    • 1907, E.M. Forster, The Longest Journey, Part I, XII [Uniform ed., p. 130]:
      Stephen feared that he would yell louder, and was hostile. But they made friends and treated each other, and slanged the proprietor and ragged the pretty girls …
    • 1912, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Lost World […], London, New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC:
      "If they had been a row of his favorite Pressmen he could not have slanged them worse."
See also[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

Verb[edit]

slang

  1. (archaic) simple past of sling
    • 1836, Edward Bagnall, Saul and David:
      Before he slang the all-deciding stone […]

Etymology 3[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Noun[edit]

slang (plural slangs)

  1. (UK, dialect) Any long, narrow piece of land; a promontory.
    • 1610, William Camden, translated by Philémon Holland, Britain, or A Chorographicall Description of the Most Flourishing Kingdomes, England, Scotland, and Ireland, […], London: […] [Eliot’s Court Press for] Georgii Bishop & Ioannis Norton, →OCLC:
      There runneth forth into the sea a certaine shelfe or slang, like unto an out~thrust tongue.

Etymology 4[edit]

Compare sling.

Noun[edit]

slang (plural slangs)

  1. (UK, obsolete) A fetter worn on the leg by a convict.
  2. (UK, obsolete, slang) A counterfeit weight or measure.
  3. (UK, obsolete, slang) A travelling show, or one of its performances.
  4. (UK, obsolete, slang) A hawker's license.
  5. (UK, obsolete, slang) A watchchain.

Further reading[edit]

Etymology 5[edit]

The same as sling which is also used in this sense. The vowel exhibits the lowering of /ɪ/ before /ŋ/ distinguishing for African American Vernacular English, as in thang for thing, but the word has spread with this pronunciation outside the accents that exhibit this feature.

Verb[edit]

slang (third-person singular simple present slangs, present participle slanging, simple past and past participle slanged)

  1. (transitive, African-American Vernacular, MLE) To sell (something, especially illegal drugs).
    Synonyms: sling, flog
    • 2014, “Bail Out”, Cdai (lyrics), performed by RondoNumbaNine ft. Cdai:
      Everyday I wake up gotta get back to the gwop
      Just another fuckin day in that gangway slangin rocks
    • 2016, “Call Me A Spartan”, TG Millian (lyrics), performed by Harlem Spartans (Blanco, Zico, Bis, TG Millian, MizorMac):
      Whip, whip in the trap do up kitchen that's food (that's food)
      Cookin up grub
      Fuck, these niggas cookin up soup (uhhhhh)
      Slang the crack or the black
      Put the light and dark on the move
      Gold and brown and cute
      Gyal love me and I love them too (too)
    • 2017, “Next Up?”, Digga D (lyrics), performed by 1011 (Digga D x Sav'O x T.Y):
      Bro I’m booky, I’ll take your food if my belly starts rumbling
      They rap about bootings, they ain’t blammed nobody
      Hold that properly when I bang that dotty
      I put sniff in a rex, and I slang that bobby
    • 2019 October 18, “Feed' Em”‎[2]performed by #SG Jibbzy, 1:17–1:23:
      Bro is in the kitchen, know he can’t cook
      He is whipping shit that we use to slang
      This fat prick wanna chat on YouTube
      still had to cheat to deny he’s gang

Anagrams[edit]

Afrikaans[edit]

FWOTD – 7 April 2013

Etymology[edit]

From Dutch slang (“snake, serpent”), from Middle Dutch slange (“snake, serpent”), from Old Dutch slango (“snake, serpent”), from Proto-Germanic *slangô (“snake, serpent”).

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

slang (plural slange)

  1. snake; serpent
    • 1983, E. P. Groenewald et al. (translators), Bybel, Genesis 3:2:
      Die vrou het die slang geantwoord: “Ons mag eet van die vrugte van die bome in die tuin."
      The woman answered the serpent: “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden.

Related terms[edit]

Cebuano[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from English slang. A false friend.

Noun[edit]

slang

  1. (colloquial, informal) twang, foreign accent

Adjective[edit]

slang

  1. (colloquial, informal) (usually of English speakers) Having a regional or foreign accent

Czech[edit]

Czech Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia cs

Noun[edit]

slang m inan

  1. slang

Declension[edit]

Declension of slang (velar masculine inanimate)
singular plural
nominative slang slangy
genitive slangu slangů
dative slangu slangům
accusative slang slangy
vocative slangu slangy
locative slangu slanzích
instrumental slangem slangy

Danish[edit]

Danish Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia da

Etymology 1[edit]

Borrowed from English slang.

Noun[edit]

slang c (singular definite slangen or slanget, not used in plural form)

  1. Language outside of conventional usage, slang.
Inflection[edit]
Declension of slang
common
gender 		Singular
indefinite definite
nominative slang slangen
slanget
genitive slangs slangens
slangets
Derived terms[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

See slange.

Verb[edit]

slang

  1. imperative of slange

Dutch[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Middle Dutch slange, from Old Dutch slango, from Proto-Germanic *slangô (“snake, serpent”).

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

slang f (plural slangen, diminutive slangetje n)

  1. snake, squamate of the suborder Serpentes
    Synonym: serpent
    Hypernym: reptiel
  2. hose (flexible tube)
Hyponyms[edit]
Derived terms[edit]
Descendants[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

Borrowed from English slang.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

slang n (plural slangs, diminutive slangetje n)

  1. slang, language outside the conventional register specific to a social group

Anagrams[edit]

French[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From English slang.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

slang m (plural slangs)

  1. English slang
    Twain fut un des premiers auteurs provenant des terres intérieures des États-Unis qui a su capturer la distinction, le slang comique et l’iconoclasme de sa nation.
    Twain was one of the first authors coming from the interior of the United States who was able to capture the distinction, the comic slang and the iconoclasm of his nation.

See also[edit]

Further reading[edit]

Indonesian[edit]

Indonesian Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia id

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Dutch slang (“hose”, literally “snake”), from Middle Dutch slange, from Old Dutch slango, from Proto-Germanic *slangô (“snake, serpent”).

Noun[edit]

slang (first-person possessive slangku, second-person possessive slangmu, third-person possessive slangnya)

  1. (rare) hose (flexible tube).
Usage notes[edit]

Rarely used to avoid confusion with the second sense (from English slang). The alternative form selang is used instead, and becoming acceptable.

Synonyms[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

From English slang.

Noun[edit]

slang (first-person possessive slangku, second-person possessive slangmu, third-person possessive slangnya)

  1. (linguistics) slang, unconventional language.
Synonyms[edit]

Further reading[edit]

Limburgish[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Dutch slang.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

slang f

  1. hose (flexible tube)
Inflection[edit]

This entry needs an inflection-table template.

Etymology 2[edit]

Borrowed from English slang.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

slang f

  1. slang
Inflection[edit]

This entry needs an inflection-table template.

Norwegian Bokmål[edit]

Norwegian Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia no

Etymology 1[edit]

From English slang.

Noun[edit]

slang m (definite singular slangen)

  1. slang (non-standard informal language)
Related terms[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

Verb[edit]

slang

  1. imperative of slange

References[edit]

Norwegian Nynorsk[edit]

Norwegian Nynorsk Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia nn

Etymology[edit]

From English slang.

Noun[edit]

slang m (definite singular slangen)

  1. slang (non-standard informal language)

Related terms[edit]

References[edit]

Polish[edit]

Polish Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia pl

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from English slang.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

slang m inan

  1. (linguistics) argot, jargon, slang
    Synonyms: argot, gwara, żargon

Declension[edit]

Declension of slang
singular plural
nominative slang slangi
genitive slangu slangów
dative slangowi slangom
accusative slang slangi
instrumental slangiem slangami
locative slangu slangach
vocative slangu slangi

Derived terms[edit]

adjective

Related terms[edit]

adverb

Further reading[edit]

  • slang in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
  • slang in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Romanian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Unadapted borrowing from English slang.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

slang n (plural slanguri)

  1. slang
    Synonym: argou

Declension[edit]

Declension of slang
singular plural
indefinite articulation definite articulation indefinite articulation definite articulation
nominative/accusative (un) slang slangul (niște) slanguri slangurile
genitive/dative (unui) slang slangului (unor) slanguri slangurilor
vocative slangule slangurilor

Swedish[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Low German and Middle Low German slange, from Old Saxon slango, from Proto-Germanic *slangô.

Noun[edit]

slang c

  1. hose, tube, flexible pipe
Declension[edit]
Declension of slang 
Singular Plural
Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite
Nominative slang slangen slangar slangarna
Genitive slangs slangens slangars slangarnas

Etymology 2[edit]

From English slang.

Noun[edit]

slang c

  1. (uncountable) slang (language)
Declension[edit]
Declension of slang 
Uncountable
Indefinite Definite
Nominative slang slangen — —
Genitive slangs slangens — —

References[edit]

Anagrams[edit]

Tagalog[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

slang (Baybayin spelling ᜐ᜔ᜎᜅ᜔)

  1. Alternative spelling of islang

Adjective[edit]

slang (Baybayin spelling ᜐ᜔ᜎᜅ᜔)

  1. Alternative spelling of islang

West Frisian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old Frisian *slanga, from Proto-Germanic *slangô.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

slang c (plural slangen, diminutive slankje)

  1. snake

Alternative forms[edit]

Further reading[edit]

  • “slang”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011
Retrieved from "https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=slang&oldid=79036733"