jargon

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈdʒɑː.ɡən/ (UK); /ˈd͡ʒɑɹ.ɡən/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English jargoun,^[2][3][4] borrowed from Old French jargon (“chattering of birds”),^[2][3][5] probably of imitative origin.^[2][3][5] RHWU derives it from an expressive base *garg-, as in gargle and gargoyle,^[4] and Barnhart and Etymonline compare Latin garrire (“to chatter”).^[3][5] Merriam-Webster gives the source as Anglo-French jargun.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Unintelligible talk or chattering; also the twittering of birds.^[5][7][3]

Semantic evolution

The birdsong sense became obsolete,^[7] while “meaningless talk” widened to a mixed or hybrid speech^[5][7] and then to the language peculiar to a sect or profession,^[5][7][3] hence any talk full of unfamiliar terms.^[5] It is also used of pretentious, roundabout language.^[6][4]

Timeline

• 1340–70 – unintelligible talk;^[7] Barnhart gives about 1350.^[3]
• c. 1386 – the chattering of birds.^[7]
• late 14th century – Middle English verb jargounen, “to chatter”.^[5]
• 1643 – a mixed or hybrid language.^[7][5]
• 1651 – the terminology of a sect or profession.^[7][3][5]
• 1769 – an unrelated jargon, a variety of zircon.^[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The specialized vocabulary of a trade, profession or group.
2. Unintelligible or meaningless talk; gibberish.
3. A hybrid language; a pidgin.
4. Pretentious language full of long words and roundabout expressions.

Verb

1. To talk in jargon.

Word family

• jargonist
• jargonistic
• jargony
• jargonish
• jargonize

References

1. [1] Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. [1] [2] [3] The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. [1] [2] [3] Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
5. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. [1] [2] Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press