Page "Slang" Paragraph 12

The origin of the word slang is uncertain.

It has a connection with Thieves ' cant, and the earliest attested use ( 1756 ) refers to the vocabulary of " low or disreputable " people.

Beyond that, however, its origin is unclear.

A Scandinavian origin has been proposed ( compare, for example, Norwegian slengenamn, which means " nickname "), but is discounted by the Oxford English Dictionary based on " date and early associations ".