Link Centre Dictionary

slang

UK/ˈslæŋ/ US/ˈslæŋ/ uncommon archaic dated obsolete uk
noun (2) verb (3)

noun

1.

informal language consisting of words and expressions that are not considered appropriate for formal occasions; often vituperative or vulgar

  • “their speech was full of slang expressions”
2.

a characteristic language of a particular group (as among thieves)

  • “they don”
Synonyms

verb

1.
2.

fool or hoax

  • “The immigrant was duped because he trusted everyone”
  • “You can”
Synonyms
3.

Origin

First use appears c. 1756, meaning "special vocabulary of tramps or thieves", origin unknown. Not believed to be connected with language or lingo. Possibly derived from a North Germanic source, then possibly related to Nordic language: Danish slænge, Icelandic and Norwegian Nynorsk slengja, Norwegian slenge, Swedish slänga (“to (carelessly) sling, throw, hurl; throw away, to dispose of; to flail”), with derivational nouns such as slæng, sleng, släng etc. Compare the compound: Danish slængenavn, Norwegian slengenavn, Norwegian Nynorsk slengenamn, Swedish slängnamn (“nickname, byname, informal name”, literally “sling-name”), and the phrases: Norwegian Nynorsk slengja kjeften, Swedish slänga käften (“to abuse verbally”, literally “to sling one's jowl”), Swedish slänga ur sig (“to say something hastily, carelessly, thoughtlessly”, literally “to throw out of oneself”), also Swedish (regional) slänga (“careless, nonchalant girl”, literally “sling + feminine suffix -a”).

Phrases

  • centre slang
  • medial slang
  • rhyming slang
  • slanging match

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.