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jargon
DCHP-1 (pre-1967)
Entry from the DCHP-1 (pre-1967)
This entry may contain outdated or offensive information, terms, and examples.
n.
a relatively simple trade language used by the Indians of the Pacific Coast in their dealings with whites and Indians of other tribes, based on the language of the Chinook Indians; words from Nootka, Salish, French, English, and other languages were adapted to the jargon.
See: Chinook Jargon
Quotations
1912
Hale in 1841 estimated the number of words in the jargon at 250; Gibbs, in 1863, recorded about 500; Eells, in 1894 counted 740 words actually in use. . . .
1957
Totoosh was jargon for breasts.