ˈpa.ˌtwä, ˈpä.-, ˈpȧ.- noun
( plural patois -wäz)
Etymology: French, from Old French, peasant speech, probably from pate, patte paw + -ois (as in françois French) — more at patten
1.
a. : a dialect other than the standard or literary dialect
the polyglot patois of a Balkan borderland — American Guide Series: Minnesota
b. : illiterate or provincial speech
2. : the characteristic special language of an occupational or social group or of the followers of a sport or other interest : cant , jargon
the deportment and language of the gangsters and their “molls” was aped … by the “swells”, and the patois of prison yard and call house became the lingua franca of society — Polly Adler
Synonyms: see dialect