jargon
1 Americannoun
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the language, especially the vocabulary, peculiar to a particular trade, profession, or group.
medical jargon.
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unintelligible or meaningless talk or writing; gibberish.
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any talk or writing that one does not understand.
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language that is characterized by uncommon or pretentious vocabulary and convoluted syntax and is often vague in meaning.
verb (used without object)
noun
noun
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specialized language concerned with a particular subject, culture, or profession
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language characterized by pretentious syntax, vocabulary, or meaning
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gibberish
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another word for pidgin
verb
noun
Related Words
See language.
Other Word Forms
- jargoneer noun
- jargonist noun
- jargonistic adjective
- jargony adjective
Etymology
Origin of jargon1
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English jargoun, from Middle French; Old French jargon, gargun, derivative of an unrecorded expressive base garg- designating the throat and its functions, as in gargle, gargoyle
Origin of jargon2
First recorded in 1760–70; from French, from Italian giargone, of uncertain origin; perhaps ultimately from Persian zargūn “gold-colored” ( zircon ( def. ) ), equivalent to zar “gold” ( arsenic ( def. ), gold ( def. ), yellow ( def. ) ) + gūn “color”; alternatively, perhaps akin to Old French jacincte, also jacunces, jargonce jacinth ( def. )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Plus, a growing heart-attack risk, the corporate jargon we hate and the return of the neighborhood tavern.
Other topics we look at include the growing health risk for people under 55, family money meetings and the corporate jargon that annoys you most.
There’s so much jargon, and things are constantly happening.
From MarketWatch
So it goes with corporate jargon—words used in business that rely on buzzwords or forced phrases instead of plain, concrete speech.
At the moment, the rate of energy recovery with the 'super clip' - frankly, jargon that would be better kept away from public consumption because of the potential for confusion - can be a maximum of 250kw.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
