Standard Lemma guide

verlan

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /vɛə(ɹ)ˈlɑːn/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɑːn

1

noun

Meaning 1

A type of backslang used in French, in which the order of the syllables or sounds of words is changed.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From French verlan, itself a verlan of à l'envers (“upside down or back to front”).

Across languages

Translations

14 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Dutch: verlan — type of backslang used in French
  • French: verlan — type of backslang used in French
  • German: Verlan — type of backslang used in French
  • Greek: βερλάν (verlán) — type of backslang used in French
  • Hungarian: verlan — type of backslang used in French
  • Italian: verlan — type of backslang used in French
  • Japanese: ヴェルラン (veruran) — type of backslang used in French
  • Japanese: ベルラン (beruran) — type of backslang used in French
  • Polish: verlan — type of backslang used in French
  • Portuguese: verlan — type of backslang used in French
  • Russian: верла́н (verlán) — type of backslang used in French
  • Spanish: verlan — type of backslang used in French
  • Swedish: verlan — type of backslang used in French
  • Ukrainian: верла́н (verlán) — type of backslang used in French