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gam·mon²

(gămən) Chiefly British

1. Misleading or nonsensical talk; humbug.

2. Gammon See Shelta.

v. gam·moned, gam·mon·ing, gam·mons

v.tr.

To deceive or mislead: "[He] gammoned a countryman out of a good round sum of money" (Charles Dickens).

v.intr.

To talk misleadingly or deceptively.

[Origin unknown.]

gammon·er n.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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