Definition of patois

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< Patna

Paton, Alan Stewart >

pat·ois    (ptwä, p-twä) KEY 

NOUN:
pl. pat·ois  (ptwäz, p-twä) KEY 

1. A regional dialect, especially one without a literary tradition.
2. 1. A creole.
   2. Nonstandard speech.
3. The special jargon of a group; cant. See Synonyms at dialect.

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ETYMOLOGY:
French, from Old French, possibly from pate, paw, from Vulgar Latin *patta, perhaps of imitative origin