Dictionary

lingo en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈlɪŋ.ɡoʊ̯/ (US)
• (US) audio
• /ˈlɪŋ.ɡəʊ̯/ (UK)

Etymology

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

Meanings

1. (countable, informal, uncountable) Language, especially language peculiar to a particular group, field, or region; jargon or a dialect.
   • [...] I have Thoughts to tarry a ſmall Matter in Town, to learn ſomewhat of your Lingo firſt, before I croſs the Seas. 1700, [William] Congreve, The Way of the World, a Comedy. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, Act III, scene xv, page 47:
   • Nobody could make out plain what she said, for she was mainly jabbering Swede lingo, but there was English enough, of a kind, to give us some idee. 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter XII, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:
   • "You see, ma'am, I can't divest myself of my professional lingo," observed Mr. Banks. 1846, George W.M. Reynolds, The Mysteries of London, volume 1, London: George Vickers, page 327:
2. (countable, qualifier:Australian Aboriginal, uncountable) An Aboriginal language.
   • The huntsman spoke Davey’s lingo. 1937, Ion L. Idriess, Over the Range, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, published 1947, page 77:
   • 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. 2018, Melissa Lucashenko, Too Much Lip, University of Queensland Press, published 2023, page 105:

Forms

Deriveds

cyberlingo · DoggoLingo · kanto lingo · Duolingo · diplolingo · diner lingo

Translations (20)

pt jargão (language peculiar to a particular group or region) · scn calata (language peculiar to a particular group or region) · io linguo (language peculiar to a particular group or region) · uk жарго́н (language peculiar to a particular group or region) · ru жарго́н (language peculiar to a particular group or region) · fr jargon (language peculiar to a particular group or region) · ca argot (language peculiar to a particular group or region) · es germanía (language peculiar to a particular group or region) · id lingo (language peculiar to a particular group or region) · tr meslek dili (language peculiar to a particular group or region) · nl jargon (language peculiar to a particular group or region) · es jerga (language peculiar to a particular group or region) · pl żargon (language peculiar to a particular group or region) · es argot (language peculiar to a particular group or region) · it gergo (language peculiar to a particular group or region) · pl narzecze (language peculiar to a particular group or region) · scn parrata (language peculiar to a particular group or region) · tr altdil (language peculiar to a particular group or region) · id bahasa lingo (language peculiar to a particular group or region) · de Jargon (language peculiar to a particular group or region)