slang
slang
English
“Nobody knows where the word 'slang' came from — which is exactly the kind of untraceable, disreputable origin you would expect from a word that names the language of people who do not care about origins.”
English slang appeared in the 1750s, and its etymology is genuinely unknown. Suggested origins include Scandinavian (Norwegian slengenavn, 'nickname'), Romani, thieves' cant, or a corruption of 'language' itself. None of these has been confirmed. The word emerged from the same social margins it describes — the speech of criminals, soldiers, street vendors, and young people who did not want to sound like their parents.
Samuel Johnson did not include 'slang' in his Dictionary (1755), though he was probably aware of it. The first systematic study of slang in English was Francis Grose's A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue (1785), which catalogued the informal vocabulary of London's streets, taverns, and prisons. Grose treated slang as material worth preserving, not just condemning.
Slang has always been generational. Each decade produces its own: groovy (1960s), rad (1980s), dope (1990s), lit (2010s), no cap (2020s). The words rise from subcultures, spread through media, peak in mainstream use, and then date themselves. Using yesterday's slang is the fastest way to reveal your age.
Linguists distinguish slang from jargon (specialized professional vocabulary), dialect (regional variation), and cant (secret criminal language). But the boundaries are porous. Medical slang (calling a patient a 'frequent flyer') and military slang ('boots on the ground') blur the line between informal speech and professional jargon. Slang is language undressed. Sometimes the undressing is the point.
Related Words
Today
The internet did not invent slang, but it accelerated the cycle. A word can go from subcultural to mainstream to dated in months instead of decades. 'YOLO' peaked in 2012 and was dead by 2014. 'Rizz' entered the mainstream in 2023. The half-life of slang is shrinking.
The word's unknown etymology is its best feature. Slang names the language that nobody controls, that no authority sanctions, that emerges from the gaps between proper speech and actual speech. It would be strange if such a word had a respectable, well-documented origin. The mystery is the point.
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