thieves' vocabulary
1Thieves' cant — or Rogues cant was a secret language (a cant or cryptolect) which was formerly used by thieves, beggars and hustlers of various kinds in Great Britain and to a lesser extent in other English speaking countries. The classic, colourful argot is now …
2Esperanto vocabulary — The word base of Esperanto was originally defined by Lingvo internacia, published by Zamenhof in 1887. It contained some 900 root words. However, the rules of the language allowed speakers to borrow words as needed, recommending only that they… …
3cant — I. n. 1. Whining talk, pious prating, sanctimonious phrases. 2. Hypocrisy, affected piety, sham holiness. 3. Peculiar form of speech, professional parlance, partisan vocabulary, shibboleths of sect, popular cry. 4. Slang, jargon, low language,… …
4slang — slang1 /slang/, n. 1. very informal usage in vocabulary and idiom that is characteristically more metaphorical, playful, elliptical, vivid, and ephemeral than ordinary language, as Hit the road. 2. (in English and some other languages) speech and …
5literature — /lit euhr euh cheuhr, choor , li treuh /, n. 1. writings in which expression and form, in connection with ideas of permanent and universal interest, are characteristic or essential features, as poetry, novels, history, biography, and essays. 2.… …
6Rotwelsch — or Gaunersprache is a secret language, a cant or thieves argot, spoken by covert groups primarily in Germany, Switzerland and the Low Countries.Origin and developmentRotwelsch was formerly common among travelling craftspeople and vagrants. The… …
7British slang — circuBritish slang is English language slang used in the UK. Slang is informal language sometimes peculiar to a particular social class or group and its use in Britain dates back to before the 16th century. The language of slang, in common with… …
8Islamic arts — Visual, literary, and performing arts of the populations that adopted Islam from the 7th century. Islamic visual arts are decorative, colourful, and, in religious art, nonrepresentational; the characteristic Islamic decoration is the arabesque.… …
9YIDDISH LANGUAGE — YIDDISH LANGUAGE, language used by Ashkenazi Jews for the past 1,000 years. Developed as an intricate fusion of several unpredictably modified stocks, the language was gradually molded to serve a wide range of communicative needs. As the society… …
10biblical literature — Introduction four bodies of written works: the Old Testament writings according to the Hebrew canon; intertestamental works, including the Old Testament Apocrypha; the New Testament writings; and the New Testament Apocrypha. The Old… …
