Lingo

//ˈliŋ.ɡoʊ// name, noun, slang

name, noun, slang ·Moderate ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Language, especially language peculiar to a particular group, field, or region; jargon or a dialect. countable, informal, uncountable

    "[...] I have Thoughts to tarry a ſmall Matter in Town, to learn ſomewhat of your Lingo firſt, before I croſs the Seas."

  2. 2
    a characteristic language of a particular group (as among thieves) wordnet
  3. 3
    An Aboriginal language. countable, uncountable

    "Granny Ava was the link: the last heathen of the family to speak the lingo fluently, before the Church waltzed in and jammed the Lord's Prayer in Granny Ruth's twelve-year-old mouth instead."

Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A surname.

Example

More examples

"In age regression lingo, when someone regresses and takes on the mentality of their younger self, they're in "little space.""

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Latin lingua (“language”) + -o (diminutive suffix).

Etymology 2

Scottish surname, probably altered from Lingoch, a parish of Carnbee. The placename could be from the noun ling (“heather”). More at Lingo.

Related phrases

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.