Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A member of a West African people living chiefly in southwest Nigeria.
  • noun The Benue-Congo language of this people.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • proper noun A sub-Saharan language. It belongs to the Benue-Congo branch of the Niger-Congo language family, and has nearly 30 million speakers in Nigeria, Benin, Togo and Sierra Leone, as well as communities in Brazil and Cuba.
  • proper noun A family of religions, which spread to the Americas in the 15th to 19th centuries. These include Santeria and Lukumi. See Yoruba religion.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a member of a West African people living chiefly in southwestern Nigeria
  • noun a Kwa language spoken by the Yoruba in southwestern Nigeria

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word Yoruba.

Examples

  • As long as people are citing influences on ‘Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da’, McCartney got the title from his friend, Nigerian conga player Jimmy Scott, who apparently used the phrase to mean ‘life goes on’ (in Yoruba).

    Matthew Yglesias » Endgame 2010

  • You know in Yoruba land there is the adage that says 'where there is no law, there is no sin or crime'.

    The Laws and us; my thinking. 2009

  • I would greet him with respect and all as we do in Yoruba land especially to someone that is 8 years older than you are.

    A GUY FROM THE PAST 2008

  • Geoffroy tries to speak to them, a few words of Ibo, phrases in Yoruba, in pidgin, but they are always silent, not haughty, merely absent, disappearing rapidly in single file along the river, lost to view in the tall grass yellowed by drought.

    Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio - Prose 2008

  • I would greet him with respect and all as we do in Yoruba land especially to someone that is 8 years older than you are.

    Archive 2008-05-01 2008

  • At Abeokuta in Yoruba a man will send a symbolical letter in the shape of cowries, palm-nuts and other kernels strung on rice — straw, and sharp wits readily interpret the meaning.

    The Book of The Thousand Nights And A Night 2006

  • Twins have special spiritual significance in Yoruba culture.

    Kindness in Oshogbo Sharon Bakar 2005

  • Twins have special spiritual significance in Yoruba culture.

    Archive 2005-05-01 Sharon Bakar 2005

  • To answer this question, we will conclude this week's piece with excerpts from a rejoinder titled "The Arithmetic of Subsidy, the 'Isiro' of Deceit" (isiro in Yoruba translates to calculation) XX by Oyewale Tomori, a Professor of Virology on page 64 in the

    Vanguard 2010

  • Switching between English, pidgin English, Yoruba and Nigerian slang as they rhyme and sing, they have realised that success depends on ensuring that their music reflects its place of origin and that it resonates, in as authentic a way as possible, with their audience.

    Music news, reviews, comment and features | guardian.co.uk 2009

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.