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créole — meaning in English

French → English · translate English → French instead

English meaning

  • Creole noun A language that develops naturally from the mixing of two or more languages, typically becoming the native tongue of a community.
  • pidgin noun An amalgamation of two disparate languages, used by two populations having no common language as a lingua franca to communicate with each other, lacking formalized grammar and having a small, utilitarian vocabulary and no native speakers. The speech is slow and supported by mime and gesture.

Senses

créole is used for these senses in English:

  • Creole A descendant of European settlers who is born in a colonized country. [from 17th c.]
  • creole (linguistics) A language formed from two or more languages which has developed from a pidgin to become a first language.
  • pidgin (linguistics) An amalgamation of two disparate languages, used by two populations having no common language as a lingua franca to communicate with each other, lacking formalized grammar and having a small, utilitarian vocabulary and no native speakers.

Creole — full definition

  1. noun A language that develops naturally from the mixing of two or more languages, typically becoming the native tongue of a community.
  2. noun A person of mixed European and other ancestry born in a formerly colonised region, or (in Louisiana) a person of French or Spanish descent born there.
  3. adj Relating to a cooking style that blends French, African, Spanish, and Caribbean influences, especially from Louisiana.

pidgin — full definition

  1. noun An amalgamation of two disparate languages, used by two populations having no common language as a lingua franca to communicate with each other, lacking formalized grammar and having a small, utilitarian vocabulary and no native speakers. The speech is slow and supported by mime and gesture.
  2. noun A person's business, occupation, work, or trade (also spelt as pigeon).

Related French words