baragouinish
|ba-ra-gou-in-ish|
/ˌbærəˈɡwɪnɪʃ/
speak gibberish
Etymology
'baragouinish' originates from French, specifically the word 'baragouin', which itself comes from Breton 'bara-gwin' (literally 'bread-wine') used mockingly to refer to unintelligible speech.
'baragouin' entered French as a term for gibberish (influenced by Breton 'bara' 'bread' + 'gwin' 'wine'), was borrowed into English in the 19th century as 'baragouin', and later English formed the verb/adjective 'baragouinish' by adding the suffix '-ish' to create a verb meaning 'speak like baragouin'.
Initially it referred to the (mocked) Breton-sounding words or dialect ('gibberish' associated with Breton), but over time it evolved to mean more generally 'to speak unintelligibly' in English.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Verb 1
to speak in a confused, unintelligible, or gibberish manner; to utter speech that is difficult or impossible to understand.
After a few drinks he began to baragouinish, and nobody could follow what he was saying.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Last updated: 2026/01/13 14:18