Pidgin or pigeon?
pidgin is a noun meaning “An amalgamation of two disparate languages, used by two populations having no…”; pigeon is a noun meaning “One of several birds of the family Columbidae within the order Columbiformes”. In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) pigeon is about 12 times as common as pidgin.
What is the difference between pidgin and pigeon?
| pidgin | pigeon | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | noun | noun, verb |
| Meaning | An amalgamation of two disparate languages, used by two populations having no common language as a lingua franca to communicate with each other, lacking… | One of several birds of the family Columbidae within the order Columbiformes The meat from this bird To deceive with a confidence game |
| Example | none recorded | It's their pigeon |
| Forms | pidgins | pigeons |
| Pronunciation | /ˈpɪ.d͡ʒɪn/ /ˈpɪ.d͡ʒən/ | /ˈpɪ.dʒɪn/ /ˈpɪ.dʒən/ /ˈpə.dʒən/ |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words | 4.1 times per million words |
Sources: pidgin and pigeon in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of pidgin and pigeon
pidgin
- 1
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…
pigeon
- 1
One of several birds of the family Columbidae within the order Columbiformes
- 2
To deceive with a confidence game
- 3
The meat from this bird
- 4
CanadaUSinformalA person who is a target or victim of a confidence game
- 5
A pacifist, appeaser, an isolationist, a dove
- 6
A person hired to transport film footage out of a region where transport options are limited
- 7
AustraliaslangA weak or useless person
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, pidgin or pigeon?
pidgin appears about once in every 3 million words; pigeon 4.1 times per million words.
pidgin about once in every 3 million wordspigeon 4.1 times per million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).