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jargon

Posted: Wed Nov 28, 2012 9:39 am
by William Hupy
We have all used this word in our respective fields. Where did it come from?

Re: jargon

Posted: Wed Nov 28, 2012 12:20 pm
by Perry Lassiter
The Online Etymological Dictionary speaks thus:

jargon (n.)
mid-14c., "unintelligible talk, gibberish; chattering, jabbering," from O.Fr. jargon "a chattering" (of birds), also "language, speech," especially "idle talk; thieves' Latin." Ultimately of echoic origin (cf. L. garrire "to chatter," English gargle). Often applied to something the speaker does not understand, hence meaning "mode of speech full of unfamiliar terms" (1650s). Middle English also had it as a verb, jargounen "to chatter" (late 14c.), from French.