SYLLABICATION: jar·gon
PRONUNCIATION: jär'gən
NOUN: 1. Nonsensical, incoherent, or meaningless talk. 2. A hybrid language or dialect; a pidgin. 3. The specialized or technical language of a trade, profession, or similar group. See synonyms at dialect. 4. Speech or writing having unusual or pretentious vocabulary, convoluted phrasing, and vague meaning.
INTRANSITIVE VERB: Inflected forms: jar· goned, jar· gon· ing, jar· gons
To speak in or use jargon.
ETYMOLOGY: Middle English jargoun, from Old French jargon, probably of imitative origin.
OTHER FORMS: jar'gon· ist, jar'gon· eer' —NOUN
jar'gon· is'tic —ADJECTIVE
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.[/quote]
This word has been around since at least the middle of the 12th Century. From the Online Etymology Dictionary:
In Play: Ma Jong took one look at the jargon of jogging and decided, in the words of Martin Mull, that "The trouble with jogging is that the ice falls out of your glass."jargon
1340, "unintelligible talk, gibberish," from O.Fr. jargon "a chattering" (of birds), ultimately of echoic origin (cf. L. garrire "to chatter," Eng. gargle). Often applied to something the speaker does not understand, hence meaning "mode of speech full of unfamiliar terms" (1651).
Selected samples from the jargon of jogging, courtesy of an English-French Running Dictionary at runtheplanet.com :
I think you get the idea!Agony: Agonie
Amateur: Amateur
Ambulance: Ambulance
Ankle: Cheville
Annual: Annuel
Arch: Voûte plantaire
Arch-support: Support de la voûte plantaire
Bandage: Bandage
Band aid: Pansement
Bathroom: Toilettes
Blister: Ampoule
Blood: Sang
Body: Corps
Bone: Os
Brace: Agrafer
Break: Casser
To break a bone: Se casser un os
To take a break: Faire une pause
Bruise: Hématome
Cramp: Crampe
Cry: Pleure
To cry: Pleurer
Defeat: Défaite
Dehydration: Déshydratation
Difficult: Difficile
Dislocation: Dislocation
Distance: Distance
Dizzy: Avoir la tête qui tourne
DNF (Did not finish): N'a pas terminé
DNS (Does not start): N'a pas pris le départ
Doctor: Docteur
Exhaustion: Epuisement
Exhausted: Epuisé
Faint: Evanouissement
To faint: S'évanouir
Fall: Tombe
To fall down: Tomber par terre
To fall behind: Prendre du retard
To fall apart: S'effondrer
False: Faux
False start: Faux départ
Far: Loin
Fatigue: Fatigue
Even linguists have their own incomprehensible jargon: fricative, plosive, alveolar, postveolar, dental, glottal, apical, meme, phone, and on and on and on and ... .
