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Patois

//pæˈtwɑ// name, noun

Definitions

Proper Noun
  1. 1
    Alternative form of Patwa. alt-of, alternative
Noun
  1. 1
    A regional dialect (usually one considered substandard) of a language (especially French). countable, uncountable

    "[The Sundanese] are regarded as relatively barbarous, and in the company of Malays or Javanese, they are themselves ashamed of their dialect, which is looked on as a sort of rude patois."

  2. 2
    a regional dialect of a language (especially French); usually considered substandard wordnet
  3. 3
    Any of various French or Occitan dialects spoken in France. countable, uncountable
  4. 4
    a characteristic language of a particular group (as among thieves) wordnet
  5. 5
    Creole French in the Caribbean (especially in Dominica, St. Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, and Haiti). countable, uncountable
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  1. 6
    Jamaican Patois, a Jamaican creole language based primarily on English and African languages but also having influences from Spanish, Portuguese, and Hindi. Jamaica, countable, uncountable
  2. 7
    Jargon or cant. countable, uncountable

    "In the patois of insurance, the winery will go bare into this year’s burning season, which experts predict to be especially fierce."

Etymology

Borrowed from French patois (“regional dialect or language”), c. 1635.

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