slang

See also: Slang and släng

English

Pronunciation

• enPR: slăng, IPA^(key): /slæŋ/
• (also) (US) enPR: slāng, IPA^(key): /sleɪŋ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æŋ

Etymology 1

1756, meaning "special vocabulary of tramps or thieves", origin unknown. Possibly derived from a North Germanic source, related to Norwegian 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

slang ‎(countable and uncountable, plural slangs)

1. Language outside of conventional usage.
2. Language that is unique to a particular profession or subject; jargon.
3. The specialized language of a social group, sometimes used to make what is said unintelligible to those not members of the group; cant.
   • 1871–72, George Eliot, Middlemarch, Chapter 11

     "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."

Synonyms

• (jargon): vernacular, jargon, lingo, dialect, cant

Translations

slang

• Arabic: عَامِّيَّة f ‎(ʿāmmiyya) (Eastern Arabic), دَارِجَة f ‎(dārija) (Western Arabic)
• Catalan: argot (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 俚語 (zh), 俚语 (zh) ‎(lǐyǔ), 行語 (zh), 行语 (zh) ‎(hángyǔ)

• Czech: slang (cs) m, hantýrka (cs) f
• Danish: slang (da) c, n
• Finnish: slangi (fi)
• French: argot (fr) m, langue verte (fr) f, jargon (fr) m
• German: Slang (de) m, Jargon (de) m, Umgangssprache (de) f
• Greek: αργκό (el) f ‎(arnkó)
• Hebrew: סלנג (he)
• Hungarian: szleng (hu)
• Ido: slangajo
• Japanese: 俗語 (ja) ‎(ぞくご, zokugo), 俚言 ‎(りげん, rigen), スラング ‎(surangu)

• Korean: 속어 (ko) ‎(sogeo), 은어 (ko) ‎(euneo)
• Latvian: slengs m
• Polish: slang (pl) m, żargon (pl) m, gwara (pl) f
• Portuguese: calão (pt) m, jargão (pt) m, gíria (pt) f
• Romanian: argou (ro) n, jargon (ro) n, slang n
• Russian: сленг (ru) m ‎(sleng), жарго́н (ru) m ‎(žargón), арго́ (ru) n ‎(argó), фе́ня (ru) f ‎(fénja) (in the criminal world), разгово́рная речь f ‎(razgovórnaja rečʹ)
• Scottish Gaelic: truaill-chainnt f
• Spanish: argot (es) m, jerga (es) f, germanía (es) f
• Swedish: slang (sv)
• Tagalog: salitang balbal, salitang kalye, salitang kanto
• Turkish: argo (tr)
• Vietnamese: tiếng lóng (vi)
• Volapük: lupöpapük

jargon — see jargon

cant — see cant

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

• Danish: ^{(please verify)} slang (da) c
• Dutch: ^{(please verify)} Bargoens n, ^{(please verify)} dialect n
• Hebrew: ^{(please verify)} סְלֶנְג (he) m ‎(sleng)
• Italian: ^{(please verify)} gergo (it) m
• Korean: ^{(please verify)} 속어 [俗語] ‎(sok-eo)

• Romanian: ^{(please verify)} slang n
• Spanish: ^{(please verify)} argot (es) m, ^{(please verify)} jerga (es) f
• Serbo-Croatian: ^{(please verify)} sleng (sh) m, ^{(please verify)} žargon (sh) m, ^{(please verify)} argo (sh) m
• Telugu: ^{(please verify)} Shabdham ‎(Shabdham)

Verb

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, Also, he had to keep his temper when he was slanged in the theatre porch by a policeman — Rudyard Kipling, ‘Miss Youghal's Sais’, Plain Tales from the Hills (Folio Society 2007, p. 26)

See also

• Category:English slang

Etymology 2

Verb

slang

1. (archaic) simple past tense of sling
   • 1836, Edward Bagnall, Saul and David

     Before he slang the all-deciding stone […]

Etymology 3

Noun

slang ‎(plural slangs)

1. (Britain, dialect) Any long, narrow piece of land; a promontory.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Holland to this entry?)

Etymology 4

Compare sling.

Noun

slang ‎(plural slangs)

1. (Britain, obsolete) A fetter worn on the leg by a convict.

External links

• slang in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• slang in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
• slang at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

• glans
• langs

---

Afrikaans

FWOTD - 7 April 2013

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [slɑŋ]

Noun

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

• grootslang

---

Cebuano

Etymology

Borrowing from English slang. A misnomer.

Noun

slang

1. (colloquial, informal) twang, foreign accent

Adjective

slang

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

---

Czech

Noun

slang m

1. slang

---

Danish

Etymology

Borrowing from English slang.

Noun

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

1. Language outside of conventional usage, slang.

Inflection

Inflection of slang

common gender	Singular
	indefinite	definite
nominative	slang	slangen slanget
genitive	slangs	slangens slangets

Derived terms

• slangord
• slangordbog
• slangudtryk

---

Dutch

Etymology 1

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

Pronunciation

• audio

  (file)

• IPA^(key): /slɑŋ/

Noun

slang f ‎(plural slangen, diminutive slangetje n)

1. snake
2. hose (flexible tube)

Synonyms

• (snake): serpent

Derived terms

• (snake): grootslang
• (hose): stofzuigerslang, tuinslang

Etymology 2

From English slang.

Noun

slang n ‎(plural slangs, diminutive slangetje n)

1. language specific to one social group, slang

Anagrams

• glans, langs

---

French

Etymology

From English slang

Noun

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.

See also

• argot

External links

• “slang” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

---

Limburgish

Etymology 1

From Dutch.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [slɑŋ(ɡ)]

Noun

slang f

1. hose (flexible tube)

Etymology 2

From English.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [slæŋ(ɡ)]

Noun

slang f

1. slang

---

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology 1

From English slang

Noun

slang m ‎(definite singular slangen)

1. slang (non-standard informal language)

Related terms

• sjargong

Etymology 2

Verb

slang

1. imperative of slange

References

• “slang” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

---

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From English slang

Noun

slang m ‎(definite singular slangen)

1. slang (non-standard informal language)

Related terms

• sjargong

References

• “slang” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

---

Polish

Etymology

From English slang.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /slank/

Noun

slang m inan

1. slang (jargon or cant)

---

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowing from English slang.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /slenɡ/

Noun

slang n ‎(plural slanguri)

1. slang

Declension

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

Synonyms

• argou

---

Swedish

Noun

slang c

1. hose, tube, flexible pipe
2. (uncountable) slang (language)

Declension

Inflection of slang
	Singular		Plural
	Indefinite	Definite	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	slang	slangen	slangar	slangarna
Genitive	slangs	slangens	slangars	slangarnas

Declension of slang 2

	uncountable		uncountable
Common	indefinite	definite
nominative	slang	slangen
genitive	slangs	slangens

---

Tagalog

Noun

slang

1. (colloquial, informal) A thick foreign accent in English.

   Ayos ka mag-Ingles a, parang Kano, slang na slang!

   That´s some English diction you have, like an American, with their accent!