agbada

English

WOTD – 1 August 2020

Etymology

Former President of Niger Mamadou Tandja wearing a grand boubou, a style of agbada.

Borrowed from Yoruba agbádá.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /æɡˈbɑːdə/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /æɡˈbɑdə/

• Audio (General American):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: ag‧ba‧da

Noun

agbada (plural agbada or agbadas)

1. A long, flowing robe with wide sleeves worn by men in some parts of West Africa, often decorated with embroidery.

   Synonyms: (Nigeria) babanriga, boubou

   • 1852, Samuel Crowther, “Agbada”, in A Vocabulary of the Yoruba Language, […], London: Seeleys, […], →OCLC, page 12*:

     Agbada ya li ọrọn ọ bajẹ, "An agbada torn at the neck is spoilt."

   • 1863, Richard F[rancis] Burton, “The King’s Return Visit”, in Abeokuta and the Camaroons Mountains. An Exploration. [...] In Two Volumes, volume I, London: Tinsley Brothers, […], →OCLC, page 279:

     The Alake [...] tottered along with difficulty under a ponderous robe of scarlet velvet—in shape somewhat like the proctor's at Alma Mater—worn over an Ewu ágbadá or Guinea-fowl pattern of similar shape, but of less gorgeous hue.

   • 1889 November 15, [Cornelius Alfred] Moloney, “Cotton Interests, Foreign and Native, in Yoruba, and Generally in West Africa— […]”, in The Journal of the Manchester Geographical Society, volume V, numbers 7–9, Manchester: […] Manchester Geographical Society, […], →OCLC, page 266:

     In Yoruba the dress of an ordinary male Mohammedan consists of trousers, vest (togo), gown (agbada), cap and turban; and takes from 45 to 50 yards per suit, of which he is said to have two or three each year.

   • 1974, Oliver Jackman, Saw the House in Half, Washington, D.C.: Howard University Press, →ISBN, page 90:

     A big man wearing an agbada with gold thread embroidery at the neck and sleeves came up to him holding a glass of champagne between his thumb and forefinger.

   • 2008, Wendy Griswold, “Identities, Problems, and Movements”, in Cultures and Societies in a Changing World (Sociology for a New Century), 3rd edition, Thousand Oaks, Calif., London: Pine Oaks Press, Sage Publications, →ISBN, page 102:

     If African leaders of the 1940s and 1950s wore suits from Savile Row and Paris as they negotiated with representatives of the colonial powers, the next generation of African leaders wore agbadas and dashikis.

   • 2008, Chike Momah, chapter XIII, in A Snake Under a Thatch, [Bloomington, Ind.]: Xlibris, →ISBN, page 153:

     I grew up favoring the Igbo embroidered jumper over the loose and voluminous Yoruba agbada and shokoto, for festive and sometimes religious occasions. My main concession to my Yorubaness was the danshiki, itself also a loose top garment, though not as voluminous as the agbada.

   • 2013 October 17, Elizabeth Evans, chapter 10, in Sanakhou, [Bloomington, Ind.]: Xlibris, →ISBN, page 182:

     Over his crisp, white pantaloons and sleeveless tunic he had put on an agbada in his mother's favorite color, yellow, with simple white embroidery that ran around the hem, sleeves and the opening at the neck.

   • 2018 November 7, “Viral ‘Agbada’: Ebuka Obi-Uchendu’s designer hits it big”, in Vanguard‎^[1], Lagos, Nigeria: Vanguard Media, →ISSN, →OCLC:

     According to him [Michael Black], he has recorded more patronage after the media personality [Ebuka Obi-Uchendu] wore the agbada he designed, which helped to elevate his business to the extent where he could afford to gift his wife a car.

Translations

long, flowing robe worn by men in West Africa

• Baatonum: agbada
• Hausa: rī̀gā
• Krio: agbada
• Nupe: èwòkó
• Portuguese: abadá (pt) m
• Yoruba: agbádá

Further reading

• agbada on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• Badaga, dagaba

Krio

Etymology

From Yoruba agbádá.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /à.ɡ͡bá.dá/

Noun

àgbádá

1. agbada (robe worn by men in West Africa)

Yoruba

Etymology 1

Ọkùnrun tó ń wọ agbádá funfun.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ā.ɡ͡bá.dá/

Noun

agbádá

1. agbada (robe worn by men in West Africa)

Descendants

• → Baatonum: agbada
• → English: agbada
• → Portuguese: abadá
• → Fon: agbáɖá

Etymology 2

Agbada

Alternative forms

• adagba (Èkìtì)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ā.ɡ͡bā.dā/

Noun

agbada

1. pan, frying pan

Derived terms

• bí agbada ò bá gbóná, àgbàdo ò lè ta