ENGLISH DICTIONARY

Patois

Definition, Meaning & Examples

Pronunciation /pæˈtwɑ/ · Part of speech noun

Quick meaning: Patois is a noun meaning A regional dialect (usually one considered substandard) of a language (especially French).

Meaning

A regional dialect (usually one considered substandard) of a language (especially French).

More Meanings

  1. Any of various French or Occitan dialects spoken in France.
  2. Creole French in the Caribbean (especially in Dominica, St. Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, and Haiti).
  3. (Jamaica) Ellipsis of Jamaican Patois.
  4. Jargon or cant.

Example Sentences

*The Expanse'*s patois has become, like Klingon and Dothraki, the show's great unifier—the slang all devotees speak.
In the patois of insurance, the winery will go bare into this year’s burning season, which experts predict to be especially fierce.
[The Sundanese] are regarded as relatively barbarous, and in the company of Malays or Javanese, they are themselves ashamed of their dialect, which is looked on as a sort of rude patois.

Synonyms for patois

Depending on context, synonyms include Patwa, vernacular, cant, jargon, slang, argot.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include vernacular, lingo, jargon, slang, cant, argot.

Related Dictionary Tools

Sources & Attribution

FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0

Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.