slang

See also: Slang and släng

English

Pronunciation

• enPR: slăng, IPA^(key): /slæŋ/
  • (US, æ-tensing) IPA^(key): [sleɪŋ]

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æŋ

Etymology 1

1756, meaning "special vocabulary of tramps or thieves", origin unknown. Possibly derived from a North Germanic source, related to Norwegian Nynorsk slengenamn (“nickname”), slengja kjeften (“to abuse verbally”, literally “to sling one's jaw”), related to Icelandic slengja (“to sling, throw, hurl”), Old Norse slyngva (“to sling”). Not believed to be connected with language or lingo.

Noun

slang (countable and uncountable, plural slangs)

1. Language outside of conventional usage and in the informal register.
   • 1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 26, in The History of Pendennis. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1849–1850, →OCLC:

     She was amused by his talk, which was simple, straightforward, rather humorous and keen, and interspersed with homely expressions of a style which is sometimes called slang.

   • 1996, James Lambert, The Macquarie Book of Slang, Sydney: Macquarie Library, page v:

     English-speaking Australians have always had a love affair with slang.

2. Language that is unique to a particular profession or subject; jargon.
3. The specialized language of a social group, sometimes used to conceal one's meaning from outsiders; cant.
   • 1871, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], chapter XI, in Middlemarch […], volume I, Edinburgh, London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC, book I, page 172:

     "Oh, there are so many superior teas and sugars now. Superior is getting to be shopkeepers' slang. / "Are you beginning to dislike slang, then?" said Rosamond, with mild gravity. / "Only the wrong sort. All choice of words is slang. It marks a class." / "There is correct English: that is not slang." / "I beg your pardon: correct English is the slang of prigs who write history and essays. And the strongest slang of all is the slang of poets."

4. (countable) A particular variety of slang; the slang used by a particular group.
   • 2023, Jonathon Green, Green’s Dictionary of Slang‎^[1]:

     [F]or a detailed analysis see Liberman (2008 157ff) who sees it as one of a number of terms found in pan-European slangs meaning concealment and/or cheating.

6. (countable) An item of slang; a slang word or expression.
   • 1921, Horace Fish, The Great Way: A Story of the Joyful, the Sorrowful, the Glorious, New York: Mitchell Kennerley:

     Anyway, I have learned many slangs while I am in New York, and one of them, a remarkable slang, is sheister.

   • 2019, Hendi Pratama, Linguistic Politeness in Online Communication, Semarang: LPPS Unnes:

     The internet comes up with so many slangs used by people to survive in the online world. Many of those slangs are in the form of abbreviations, for instance, the word "u" which refers to "you"[.]

7. (countable, India) A curse word.
   • 2021, Sadan Jha, Dev Nath Pathak, Amiya Kumar Das, Neighbourhoods in Urban India: In Between Home and the City, page 82:

     Such attempts were made even more aggressive by the fact that these local women were known for picking fights easily and using slangs to verbally abuse their neighbours.

Usage notes

Sense 5 is rare among native English speakers, although it may be common among non-native speakers.

Synonyms

• (jargon): vernacular, jargon, lingo, cant

Derived terms

• anti-slang
• backslang
• centre slang
• medial slang
• rhyming slang
• slangdom
• slanger
• slangery
• slangese
• slangfest
• slangful, slangfully
• slangify, slangification
• slanging match
• slangish, slangishly, slangishness
• slangism, slangist
• slangitis
• slangland
• slangless
• slang-like
• slangly
• slangology, slangologist
• slangonym
• slangster
• slanguage
• slanguist
• slangville
• slangwhanger
• slangwise
• slangy, slanginess

 

Descendants

• → Dutch: slang
• → Esperanto: slango
• → Estonian: släng
• → Finnish: slangi
• → German: Slang
• → Hebrew: סְלֶנְג (sleng)
• → Hungarian: szleng
• → Indonesian: slank
• → Malay: slanga
• → Polish: slang
• → Russian: сленг (sleng)

Translations

unconventional language

• Afrikaans: sleng (af)
• Arabic: عَامِّيَّة f (ʕāmmiyya) (Eastern Arabic), دَارِجَة f (dārija) (Western Arabic)
• Armenian: ժարգոն (hy) (žargon)
• Bulgarian: сленг m (sleng)
• Catalan: argot (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 俚語／俚语 (zh) (lǐyǔ), 行語／行语 (zh) (hángyǔ)

• Czech: slang (cs) m, hantýrka (cs) f
• Danish: slang (da) c or n
• Dutch: streektaal (nl), dialect (nl)
• Esperanto: slango (eo)
• Estonian: släng
• Finnish: slangi (fi)
• French: argot (fr) m, langue verte (fr) f, jargon (fr) m
• Galician: xerga f
• German: Slang (de) m, Jargon (de) m, Umgangssprache (de) f
• Greek: αργκό (el) f (argkó)
• Hebrew: עגה (he) f (agá), להג (he) m (láhag), סלנג (he)
• Hungarian: szleng (hu)
• Ido: slangajo
• Indonesian: slang (id)
• Japanese: 俗語 (ja) (ぞくご, zokugo), 俚言 (ja) (りげん, rigen)
• Korean: 속어(俗語) (ko) (sogeo), 은어(隱語) (ko) (euneo)
• Latvian: slengs m
• Malay: slanga (ms)
• Maori: kīpaki, kupu mātāhae
• Polish: slang (pl) m, żargon (pl) m, gwara (pl) f
• Portuguese: calão (pt) m, jargão (pt) m, gíria (pt) f
• Romanian: argou (ro) n, jargon (ro) n, slang (ro) n
• Russian: сленг (ru) m (sleng), жарго́н (ru) m (žargón), арго́ (ru) n (argó), фе́ня (ru) f (fénja) (in the criminal world), разгово́рная речь (ru) f (razgovórnaja rečʹ)
• Scottish Gaelic: truaill-chainnt f
• Spanish: argot (es) m, jerga (es) f, germanía (es) f
• Swedish: slang (sv)
• Tagalog: salitang balbal, salitang kalye, salitang kanto
• Turkish: argo (tr), oğruca, jargon (tr)
• Vietnamese: tiếng lóng (vi)
• Volapük: lupöpapük

jargon — see jargon

cant — see cant

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Danish: ^{(please verify)} slang (da) c
• Dutch: ^{(please verify)} Bargoens (nl) n, ^{(please verify)} dialect (nl) n
• Italian: ^{(please verify)} gergo (it) m
• Romanian: ^{(please verify)} slang (ro) n
• Serbo-Croatian: ^{(please verify)} sleng (sh) m, ^{(please verify)} žargon (sh) m, ^{(please verify)} argo (sh) m
• Telugu: ^{(please verify)} శబ్దం (te) (śabdaṁ)

Verb

slang (third-person singular simple present slangs, present participle slanging, simple past and past participle slanged)

1. (transitive, dated) To vocally abuse, or shout at.
   • 1888, Rudyard Kipling, “Miss Youghal's Sais”, in Plain Tales from the Hills, Folio Society, published 2007, page 26:

     Also, he had to keep his temper when he was slanged in the theatre porch by a policeman.

   • 1907, E.M. Forster, The Longest Journey, Part I, XII [Uniform ed., p. 130]:

     Stephen feared that he would yell louder, and was hostile. But they made friends and treated each other, and slanged the proprietor and ragged the pretty girls …

   • 1912, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Lost World […], London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC:

     "If they had been a row of his favorite Pressmen he could not have slanged them worse."

See also

• Category:English slang

Etymology 2

Verb

slang

1. (archaic) simple past of sling
   • 1836, Edward Bagnall, Saul and David:

     Before he slang the all-deciding stone […]

Etymology 3

Alternative forms

• slanket

Noun

slang (plural slangs)

1. (UK, dialect) Any long, narrow piece of land; a promontory.
   • 1610, William Camden, translated by Philémon Holland, Britain, or A Chorographicall Description of the Most Flourishing Kingdomes, England, Scotland, and Ireland, […], London: […] [Eliot’s Court Press for] Georgii Bishop & Ioannis Norton, →OCLC:

     There runneth forth into the sea a certaine shelfe or slang, like unto an out~thrust tongue.

Etymology 4

Compare sling.

Noun

slang (plural slangs)

1. (UK, obsolete) A fetter worn on the leg by a convict.
2. (UK, obsolete, slang) A counterfeit weight or measure.
3. (UK, obsolete, slang) A travelling show, or one of its performances.
4. (UK, obsolete, slang) A hawker's license.
5. (UK, obsolete, slang) A watchchain.

Further reading

• “slang”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “slang”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “slang”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Etymology 5

The same as sling which is also used in this sense. The vowel exhibits the lowering of /ɪ/ before /ŋ/ distinguishing for African American Vernacular English, as in thang for thing, but the word has spread with this pronunciation outside the accents that exhibit this feature.

Verb

slang (third-person singular simple present slangs, present participle slanging, simple past and past participle slanged)

1. (transitive, African-American Vernacular, MLE) To sell (something, especially illegal drugs).

   Synonyms: sling, flog

   • 2014, “Bail Out”, Cdai (lyrics), performed by RondoNumbaNine ft. Cdai:

     Everyday I wake up gotta get back to the gwop
     Just another fuckin day in that gangway slangin rocks

   • 2016, “Call Me A Spartan”, TG Millian (lyrics), performed by Harlem Spartans (Blanco, Zico, Bis, TG Millian, MizorMac):

     Whip, whip in the trap do up kitchen that's food (that's food)
     Cookin up grub
     Fuck, these niggas cookin up soup (uhhhhh)
     Slang the crack or the black
     Put the light and dark on the move
     Gold and brown and cute
     Gyal love me and I love them too (too)

   • 2017, “Next Up?”, Digga D (lyrics), performed by 1011 (Digga D x Sav'O x T.Y):

     Bro I’m booky, I’ll take your food if my belly starts rumbling
     They rap about bootings, they ain’t blammed nobody
     Hold that properly when I bang that dotty
     I put sniff in a rex, and I slang that bobby
     

   • 2019 October 18, “Feed' Em”‎^[2]performed by #SG Jibbzy, 1:17–1:23:

     Bro is in the kitchen, know he can’t cook
     He is whipping shit that we use to slang
     This fat prick wanna chat on YouTube
     still had to cheat to deny he’s gang

Anagrams

• glans, langs

Afrikaans

FWOTD – 7 April 2013

Etymology

From Dutch slang (“snake, serpent”), from Middle Dutch slange (“snake, serpent”), from Old Dutch slango (“snake, serpent”), from Proto-Germanic *slangô (“snake, serpent”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [slaŋ]

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

slang (plural slange)

1. snake; serpent
   • 1983, E. P. Groenewald et al. (translators), Bybel, Genesis 3:2:

     Die vrou het die slang geantwoord: “Ons mag eet van die vrugte van die bome in die tuin."

     The woman answered the serpent: “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden.

Related terms

• grootslang

Cebuano

Etymology

Borrowed from English slang. A false friend.

Noun

slang

1. (colloquial, informal) twang, foreign accent

Adjective

slang

1. (colloquial, informal) (usually of English speakers) Having a regional or foreign accent

Czech

Noun

slang m inan

1. slang

Declension

Declension of slang (velar masculine inanimate)

	singular	plural
nominative	slang	slangy
genitive	slangu	slangů
dative	slangu	slangům
accusative	slang	slangy
vocative	slangu	slangy
locative	slangu	slanzích
instrumental	slangem	slangy

Danish

Etymology 1

Borrowed from English slang.

Noun

slang c (singular definite slangen or slanget, not used in plural form)

1. Language outside of conventional usage, slang.

Inflection

Declension of slang

common gender	Singular
	indefinite	definite
nominative	slang	slangen slanget
genitive	slangs	slangens slangets

Derived terms

• slangord
• slangordbog
• slangudtryk

Etymology 2

See slange.

Verb

slang

1. imperative of slange

Dutch

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch slange, from Old Dutch slango, from Proto-Germanic *slangô (“snake, serpent”).

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

• IPA^(key): /slɑŋ/
• Hyphenation: slang
• Rhymes: -ɑŋ

Noun

slang f (plural slangen, diminutive slangetje n)

1. snake, squamate of the suborder Serpentes

   Synonym: serpent

   Hypernym: reptiel

2. hose (flexible tube)

Hyponyms

• adder
• boa
• boomslang
• cobra
• gifslang
• python
• ratelslang
• wurgslang
• zeeslang

Derived terms

• aardslang
• afgodslang
• aspisslang
• boomslang
• brilslang
• dobbelsteenslang
• esculaapslang
• gifslang
• gladde slang
• grootslang
• hagedisslang
• koningsslang
• koraalslang
• kousenbandslang
• luipaardslang
• melkslang
• ratelslang
• reuzenslang
• ringslang
• sawaslang
• slangenarend
• slangenbeet
• Slangeneiland
• slangengif
• slangenhalsvogel
• slangenkruid
• slangenmens
• stofzuigerslang
• tijgerslang
• toornslang
• trapslang
• tuinslang
• waterslang
• wormslang
• wrattenslang
• wurgslang
• zeeslang

 

Descendants

• Afrikaans: slang
• Berbice Creole Dutch: slanggi
• Negerhollands: slang, slaṅ
• Skepi Creole Dutch: slanka
• → Aukan: salan
• → Caribbean Javanese: selang
• → Indonesian: slang (“hose”)
• → Papiamentu: slan

Etymology 2

Borrowed from English slang.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /slɛŋ/
• Hyphenation: slang
• Rhymes: -ɛŋ

Noun

slang n (plural slangs, diminutive slangetje n)

1. slang, language outside the conventional register specific to a social group

Anagrams

• glans, langs

French

Etymology

From English slang.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /slaŋɡ/

Noun

slang m (plural slangs)

1. English slang

   Twain fut un des premiers auteurs provenant des terres intérieures des États-Unis qui a su capturer la distinction, le slang comique et l’iconoclasme de sa nation.

   Twain was one of the first authors coming from the interior of the United States who was able to capture the distinction, the comic slang and the iconoclasm of his nation.

See also

• argot

Further reading

• “slang”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Indonesian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /s(ə)laŋ/
• Rhymes: -laŋ, -aŋ, -ŋ
• Hyphenation: slang

Etymology 1

From Dutch slang (“hose”, literally “snake”), from Middle Dutch slange, from Old Dutch slango, from Proto-Germanic *slangô (“snake, serpent”).

Noun

slang (first-person possessive slangku, second-person possessive slangmu, third-person possessive slangnya)

1. (rare) hose (flexible tube).

Usage notes

Rarely used to avoid confusion with the second sense (from English slang). The alternative form selang is used instead, and becoming acceptable.

Synonyms

• هوس (hos) (Standard Malay)
• selang

Etymology 2

From English slang.

Noun

slang (first-person possessive slangku, second-person possessive slangmu, third-person possessive slangnya)

1. (linguistics) slang, unconventional language.

Synonyms

• selang
• slanga (Standard Malay)

Further reading

• “slang” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

Limburgish

Etymology 1

From Dutch slang.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [slɑŋ(ɡ)]

Noun

slang f

1. hose (flexible tube)

Inflection

This entry needs an inflection-table template.

Etymology 2

Borrowed from English slang.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [slæŋ(ɡ)]

Noun

slang f

1. slang

Inflection

This entry needs an inflection-table template.

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology 1

From English slang.

Noun

slang m (definite singular slangen)

1. slang (non-standard informal language)

Related terms

• sjargong

Etymology 2

Verb

slang

1. imperative of slange

References

• “slang” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From English slang.

Noun

slang m (definite singular slangen)

1. slang (non-standard informal language)

Related terms

• sjargong

References

• “slang” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Old English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /slɑnɡ/, [slɑŋɡ]

Verb

slang

1. first/third-person singular preterite indicative of slingan

Polish

Etymology

Borrowed from English slang.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈslaŋk/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aŋk
• Syllabification: slang

Noun

slang m inan

1. (linguistics) argot, jargon, slang

   Synonyms: argot, gwara, żargon

Declension

Declension of slang

	singular	plural
nominative	slang	slangi
genitive	slangu	slangów
dative	slangowi	slangom
accusative	slang	slangi
instrumental	slangiem	slangami
locative	slangu	slangach
vocative	slangu	slangi

Derived terms

adjective

• slangowy

 

Related terms

adverb

• slangowo

 

Further reading

• slang in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• slang in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Romanian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English slang.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /slenɡ/

Noun

slang n (plural slanguri)

1. slang

   Synonym: argou

Declension

	singular			plural
	indefinite	definite		indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	slang	slangul		slanguri	slangurile
genitive-dative	slang	slangului		slanguri	slangurilor
vocative	slangule			slangurilor

Swedish

Etymology 1

From Low German and Middle Low German slange, from Old Saxon slango, from Proto-Germanic *slangô.

Noun

slang c

1. hose, tube, flexible pipe

Declension

Declension of slang

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	slang	slangs
	definite	slangen	slangens
plural	indefinite	slangar	slangars
	definite	slangarna	slangarnas

Etymology 2

From English slang.

Noun

slang c

1. (uncountable) slang (language)

Declension

Declension of slang

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	slang	slangs
	definite	slangen	slangens
plural	indefinite	—	—
	definite	—	—

References

• slang in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• slang in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• slang in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

Anagrams

• glans

Tagalog

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ˈslaŋ/ [ʔɪsˈlaŋ]
• Rhymes: -aŋ
• Syllabification: slang

Noun

slang (Baybayin spelling ᜐ᜔ᜎᜅ᜔)

1. Alternative spelling of islang

Adjective

slang (Baybayin spelling ᜐ᜔ᜎᜅ᜔)

1. Alternative spelling of islang

West Frisian

Etymology

From Old Frisian *slanga, from Proto-Germanic *slangô.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /slaŋ/

Noun

slang c (plural slangen, diminutive slankje)

1. snake

Alternative forms

• slange

Further reading

• “slang”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011