argot

See also: Argot

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French argot, of unknown origin.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈɑːɡəʊ/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈɑɹɡoʊ/, /ˈɑɹɡət/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑːɹɡəʊ

Noun

argot (plural argots)

1. A secret language or conventional slang peculiar to thieves, tramps and vagabonds.

   Synonyms: cant, jargon, slang

   • 2011, Stephen King, 11/22/63, New York: Scribner, →ISBN, page 338 of 338–339:

     Sadie had, in the argot of the day, a really good built.

2. The specialized informal vocabulary and terminology used between people with special skill in a field, such as between doctors, mathematicians or hackers.

   Synonym: jargon

   The conversation was in the argot of the trade, full of acronyms and abbreviations that made no sense to the uninitiate.

3. A strongly marked style of speaking.
   • 1961, Xavier Herbert, Soldiers' Women, Netley, SA: Fontana Books, published 1978, page 232:

     Merle spoke in the thin nasal argot of this city's slums: "This the fus toim yez been lobbed, oy, kiddow?"

Derived terms

• argotic

Translations

secret language of thieves, tramps and vagabonds

• Azerbaijani: arqo, jarqon, qarğadili
• Bulgarian: арго n (argo), жаргон (bg) m (žargon)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 黑話 / 黑话 (zh) (hēihuà), 切口 (zh) (qièkǒu), 隱語 / 隐语 (zh) (yǐnyǔ)

• Czech: argot (cs) m
• Finnish: salakieli (fi)
• French: argot (fr) m
• German: Argot (de) (for argot in France), Rotwelsch (de) (for argot in Germany or Rotwelsch)
• Greek: αργκό (el) f (argkó), αργοτική f (argotikí), κοινωνιόλεκτος (el) f (koinoniólektos)
• Hungarian: argó (hu)
• Italian: gergo (it) m
• Korean: 은어 (ko) (euneo), 변말 (byeonmal), 수어 (sueo)
• Persian: لوتر (fa) (lutar), لوترا (fa) (lutrâ)
• Polish: argot (pl) n
• Portuguese: calão (pt) m, argot m
• Russian: фе́ня (ru) f (fénja) (in the criminal world), сленг (ru) m (sleng), жарго́н (ru) m (žargón), арго́ (ru) n (argó)
• Slovak: argot m
• Spanish: argot (es) m, germanía (es) f

specialized vocabulary and terminology of a field — see also terminology,‎ lingo,‎ jargon,‎ phraseology

• Bulgarian: арго n (argo), жаргон (bg) m (žargon)
• Catalan: argot (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 行話 / 行话 (zh) (hánghuà), 俚語 / 俚语 (zh) (lǐyǔ)

• Finnish: slangi (fi), ammattislangi (fi), ammattikieli (fi)
• Greek: ιδιογλωσσία f (idioglossía), ιδιόλεκτο (el) n (idiólekto)
• Hungarian: argó (hu), terminológia (hu)
• Italian: gergo (it) m, parlata (it) f, idioletto m
• Korean: 전문어 (ko) (jeonmuneo), 전용어 (jeonyong'eo)
• Polish: argot (pl) n
• Portuguese: jargão (pt) m, argot m
• Russian: жарго́н (ru) m (žargón)
• Spanish: argot (es) m

Anagrams

• groat, gator, gotra, Groat, RATOG, 'gator

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from French argot.

Pronunciation

• Audio (Barcelona):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔt

Noun

argot m (plural argots)

1. slang, argot
2. jargon

Further reading

• “argot”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007

French

Etymology

Of obscure origin, first attested in 1628.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /aʁ.ɡo/, (older, now chiefly Belgium) /aʁ.ɡɔ/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio (Switzerland (Valais)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Lyon)):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -o, -ɔ

Noun

argot m (plural argots)

1. slang
   • 1862, Victor Hugo, chapter 1, in Les Misérables, Tome IV : L’idylle rue Plumet et l’épopée rue Saint-Denis, book 7:

     Qu’est-ce que l’argot ? C’est tout à la fois la nation et l’idiome ; c’est le vol sous ses deux espèces, peuple et langue.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

2. cant (secret language)

Derived terms

• argotier
• argotique
• argotisme
• argotiste
• argotologie

Descendants

• → Catalan: argot
• → English: argot
• → Galician: argot
• → German: Argot
• → Greek: αργκό (argkó)
• → Hungarian: argó
• → Italian: argot
• → Polish: argot
• → Portuguese: argot
• → Romanian: argou
• → Russian: арго́ (argó)
• → Spanish: argot
• → Turkish: argo
• → Danish: argot

Further reading

• argot on the French Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^fr
• “argot”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

Anagrams

• ragot

Polish

Etymology

Etymology tree

French argotubor.

Polish argot

Unadapted borrowing from French argot.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /arˈɡɔ/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔ
• Syllabification: ar‧got

Noun

argot m inan or n (indeclinable)

1. (linguistics, literary) argot, jargon, slang

   Synonyms: gwara, slang, żargon

Declension

Indeclinable

or

Declension of argot

	singular	plural
nominative	argot	argoty
genitive	argotu	argotów
dative	argotowi	argotom
accusative	argot	argoty
instrumental	argotem	argotami
locative	argocie	argotach
vocative	argocie	argoty

Derived terms

nouns

• argotyzm

Further reading

• “argot”, in Wielki słownik języka polskiego‎^[1] (in Polish), Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• “argot”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎^[2] (in Polish)

Anagrams

• grota

Portuguese

Alternative forms

• argô (rare)

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from French argot.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /aʁˈɡo/ [aɦˈɡo]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /aʁˈɡo/ [aɦˈɡo]
  • (São Paulo) IPA^(key): /aɾˈɡo/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /aʁˈɡo/
  • (Caipira) IPA^(key): /aɻˈɡo/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /aɾˈɡo/ [aɾˈɣo]

Noun

argot m (plural argots)

1. (linguistics) argot (a secret language used by thieves, tramps and vagabonds)

   Synonym: calão

2. (linguistics) argot (specialised vocabulary and terminology of a field)

   Synonym: jargão

Further reading

• “argot”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from French argot.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /aɾˈɡot/ [aɾˈɣ̞ot̪]
• Rhymes: -ot
• Syllabification: ar‧got

Noun

argot m (plural argots)

1. slang, argot

   Synonym: jerga

Further reading

• “argot”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025