Definitions

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun a loose cloak with a hood; worn in the Middle East and northern Africa.

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

  • noun A loose fitting, ankle length, hooded robe worn by men in North Africa.

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

  • noun a loose cloak with a hood; worn in the Middle East and northern Africa

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Moroccan Arabic جلّابة (jellāba). Compare galabiya.

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Examples

  • A jellaba is a long, flowing garment worn by farmers in the Middle East.

    Arabic for Dummies Bouchentouf, Amine 2006

  • However, thanks to monetary policy as loose and ill-fitting as an XXL jellaba, most of us were standing passively by while, in the international financial hub of New York City, the banks tossed vast sums of cheap, borrowed money into the ever greedier hands of millions who could never even qualify for an ordinary mortgage.

    Jackson Hole, Wyo. 2009

  • However, thanks to monetary policy as loose and ill-fitting as an XXL jellaba, most of us were standing passively by while, in the international financial hub of New York City, the banks tossed vast sums of cheap, borrowed money into the ever greedier hands of millions who could never even qualify for an ordinary mortgage.

    Archive 2009-08-01 2009

  • In the scrum on the quayside, the Turkish fez mingled with the spiked Prussian helmet, the frock coat with the jellaba, the veil with the parasol.

    Three Empires on the Nile Dominic Green 2007

  • In the scrum on the quayside, the Turkish fez mingled with the spiked Prussian helmet, the frock coat with the jellaba, the veil with the parasol.

    Three Empires on the Nile Dominic Green 2007

  • In the scrum on the quayside, the Turkish fez mingled with the spiked Prussian helmet, the frock coat with the jellaba, the veil with the parasol.

    Three Empires on the Nile Dominic Green 2007

  • Of course, children can't fit in the hood of the jellaba, but the hood is big enough that it symbolizes protection against the rain.

    Arabic for Dummies Bouchentouf, Amine 2006

  • The wait staff usually wears traditional jellaba (jeh-lah-bah), which are long, flowing garments that are pleasing to the eye, and the food is very exotic, spicy, and delicious.

    Arabic for Dummies Bouchentouf, Amine 2006

  • “Oh, I dunno,” says our informant, another sprightly juvenile, modishly clad in jellaba, brass-buttoned jacket, and pirate head-scarf.

    Flashman on the March Fraser, George MacDonald, 1925- 2005

  • The coins disappeared into the folds of his jellaba.

    The Eternal Mercenary Sadler, Barry 1980

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