jargon (jar.) /jär″gən/ [Fr, jargonner, to speak indistinctly] , 1. incoherent speech or gibberish. 2. a terminology used by scientists, artists, or others of a professional subculture that is not understood by the general population. 3. a state in child language acquisition characterized by strings of babbled sounds paired with gestures. As children master language, the use of jargon will diminish; continued use may be indicative of difficulty with language acquisition, requiring evaluation by a speech-language pathologist.
