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Rasta/Patois Dictionary.
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Compiled by Mike Pawka 12/92
Added Phrases Section 11/28/95
Sources moved to the back 01/19/96
Last Update 06/15/99
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A : prep. to as in "go a shop," from Spanish (7)
A GO : aux w/v. going to do, as in "Me a go tell him" (7)
A DOOR : outdoors. (5)
ACCOMPONG : n. name of Maroon warrior, Capt. Accompong, brother of
Cudjo; also name of town. From the Twi name for the
supreme deity (7)
ACKEE : n. African food tree introduced about 1778. From Twi
ankye or Kru akee (7)
AGONY : the sensations felt during sex (6)
AKS : ask (28)
ALIAS : adj. (urban slang) dangerous, violent (7)
AMSHOUSE : poorhouse (29)
AN : than (5)
ARMAGEDDON : the biblical final battle between the forces of good
and evil (1)
ASHAM : n. Parched, sweetened, and ground corn. From twi
osiam (7)
BABYLON : 1. the corrupt establishment, the "system,
" Church and State 2. the police, a policeman (1)
BAD : good, great (2)
BAD BWAI : (bad boy) 1. refering to a bold man; a compliment 2.
: One who has committed a crime.
: (rude bwai, ruddy, baddy) (31)
BADNESS : hooligan behavior, violence for its own sake (1)
BAFAN : clumsy; awkward (5)
BAFANG : a child who did not learn to walk the 1st 2-7 years. (5)
BAG-O-WIRE : a betrayer (1)
BAGGY : underpants for a woman or child. (5)
BALMYARD : n. place where pocpmania rites are held, healing is
done, spells cast or lifted (7)
BAKRA : white slavemaster, or member of the ruling class in
colonial days. Popular etymology:
"back raw" (which he bestowed with a whip.) (5)
BALD-HEAD : a straight person; one without dreadlocks;
one who works for babylon (2)
BAMBA YAY : by and by (7)
BAMBU : rolling paper (1)
BAMMY : a pancake made out of cassava, after it has been grated
and squeezed to remove the bitter juice. (5)
BANDULU : bandit, criminal, one living by guile (1)
a BANDULU BIZNESS is a racket, a swindle. (5)
BANGARANG : hubbub, uproar, disorder, disturbance. (5)
BANKRA : a big basket, including the type which hangs over the
sides of a donkey. (5)
BANS : from bands; a whole lot, a great deal, nuff,
whole heap. (5)
BASHMENT : party, dance, session (3)
BAT : butterfly or moth. English bat, the flying rodent,
is a rat-bat. (5)
BATTY : bottom; backside; anus. (5)
BATTYBWOY : a gay person (6)
BEAST : a policeman (1)
BEENIE : little (36)
BEX : vex (verb), or vexed (adjective). (5)
BHUTTU (BUHTUH) : an uncouth, out of fashion, uncultured person
Use: Wey yu a go inna dem deh cloze? Yu fayva buttu (12)
BIG BOUT YAH : Large and in charge. Superlative indicating status
(power, fame, money, talent, etc) within some social
group (12)
BISSY : cola nut. (5)
BLACK UP : To smoke weed. Like somene would ask "You Black up
: today?" Meaning did you smoke today? (14)
BLACKHEART MAN : a rascal, a hooligan (38)
BLOUSE AND SKIRT : common exclamation of surprise. (29)
BLY : chance, "must get a bly", "must get a chance". (4)
BOASIE : adj. proud, conceited, ostentatious. Combination of
English boastful and Yoruba bosi-proud and ostentatious
(7)
BOASIN TONE : Swollen penis or testicles (13)
BOBO : fool. (5)
BONG BELLY PICKNEY : a greedy child who ate too much. (29)
BOONOONOONOUS : Meaning wonderful. (13)
BOX : To smack or to hit in the face. (13)
BRAA : from BREDDA; brother. (5)
BRAATA : a little extra; like the 13th cookie in a baker's dozen;
or an extra helping of food. In musical shows it has
come to be the encore. (5)
BREDREN : one's fellow male Rastas (1)
BRINDLE : to be angry (6)
BRINKS : title given to a man who is supplying a woman with money
(6)
BUBU : fool. (5)
BUCKY : home-made gun (2) slave (29)
BUCKY MASSA : master over the slaves (29)
BUD : bird. (14)
BUFU-BUFU : fat, swollen, blubbery; too big; clumsy or lumbering.(5)
BUGUYAGA : a sloppy, dirty person, like a bum or tramp. (5)
BULL BUCKA : a bully (1)
BULLA : a comon sugar and flour cookie or small round cake,
sold everywhere in Jamaica. (5)
BUMBA CLOT,
(TO GET) BUN : to have one's spouse or girl/boy-friend cheat on
oneself, to be cheated out of something (6)
RAS CLOT,
BLOOD CLOT : curse words (1)
BUCK UP : meet (28)
BUMBO : bottom; backside. A common curse word, especially in
combination with CLOT (cloth),
a reference to the days before toilet paper. (5)
BUN : burn (29)
BUNGO : n. racially pejorative. Crude, black, ignorant,
boorish person. From Hausa bunga-bumpkin, nincompoop (7)
BUNKS : to knock or bump against, from "to bounce",
BUNKS MI RES, catch my rest, take a nap. (5)
BWOY : Boy (13)
(THE) CAT : a woman's genitals (6)
CALLALOU : A spinach stew. (18)
CARD : to fool someone (6)
CEASE & SEKKLE! : stop everything and relax! (6)
CEPES : (n.) - beard (35)
CERACE : a ubiquitous vine used for boiling medicinal tea,
and for bathing. It is proverbial for its bitterness.(5)
CHA! or CHO! : a disdainful expletive (1) pshaw! (2) very common, mild
explanation expressing impatience, vexation or
disappointment. (5)
CHAKA-CHAKA : messy, disorderly, untidy. (5)
CHALICE or CHILLUM : a pipe for smoking herb, usually made from coconut shell
or CHALEWA : and tubing, used ritually by Rastas (1)
CHANT : (v.) - to sing, especially cultural or spiritual songs
(35)
CHEAP : just as cheap, just as well. (5)
CHIMMY : chamber pot. (5)
CHO : very common, mild explanation expressing impatience,
vexation or disappointment. (5)
CLAP : hit, break, stride (1)
CLOT : 1. cloth, an essential part of most Jamaican bad words,
such as bumbo clot, rass clot, blood clot, etc.
The essence of Jamaican cursing seems to be nastiness
, rather than the blashemy or sexuality which is
characteristic of the metropolitan countries.
2. to hit or strike - from the verb "to clout". (5)
3. literally means a used tampon (31)
COCO : a potato-like edible root, known elsewhere as the taro
or the eddo.
It was brought to Jamaica from the South Pacific.
This is completely distinct from cocoa, usually called
chocolate. (5)
COIL : money (6)
COME DUNG : come down, get ready (as to prepare to play a tune) (6)
COME EEN LIKE : to seem as if; to resemble. (5)
CONTROL : to be in charge of, responsible for, to own; to take (1)
COO 'PON : v. (origin unclear) Look upon! (7)
COO YAH : v. (origin unclear) Look here! (7) pay attention (17)
COOL RUNNINGS : usually used at a time of departure on a long journey
meaning have a safe trip (31)
COOLIE : the traditional Jamaican epithet for East Indians.
It is never used It is never used for Chinese Jamaicans.
Usually in the form coolie-man or coolie-oman.
It is not considered polite today anymore than the term
nega, but it is still used widely in rural areas. (5)
COLLIE : n. (urban slang) ganja (7)
COME YAH (cumyu) : come here. (17)
CORK UP : jammed, filled, crowded (2)
CORN : 1. marijuana 2. money 3. a bullet (1)
COTCH : verb (cotch up), to support something else, as with a
forked stick; to balance something or place it
temporarily; to beg someone a cotch, can be a place on
a crowded bus seat or bench; or it may mean to cotch a
while, to stay somewhere temporarily. (5)
COTTA : a roll of cloth or vegetation placed on top of the head
to cushion the skull from the weight of a head load. (5)
CRAB : aside from it's usual meaning, it is a verb meaning to
scratch or claw. (5)
CRAVEN : greedy (5)
CRAVEN CHOKE PUPPY : someone who wants everything but when
they get it , they can't manage it.
CREATION STEPPER : means you step it in and throughout Babylon without
fear - cuttin' edge, livin' on the edge, fear no foe.
Lookin justice in the eye and saying, What are you doin
?"!! (29)
CRIS : crisp; popularly used for anything brand-new,
slick-looking. (5)
CRISSARS : crisp, brand-new (2)
CROMANTY : adj. from Corromantee, Blacks from the Gold Coast
believed to be rebellious (7)
CROCUS BAG : a very large sack made of coarse cloth, like burlap (10)
CROSSES : problems, vexations, trials; bad luck, misfortunes. (5)
CRUCIAL : serious, great, "hard,", "dread" (1)
CU : verb, look! (5)
CU DEH! : look there! (5)
CU PAN : look at. (5)
CU YA! : look here! (5)
CU YU : To say "Look at you." To the person you are refering to.
(14)
CUBBITCH : covetous. (5)
CUDJO : n. name of famous Maroon warrior; mn born on Monday,
from Fante, Twi kudwo (7)
CULTURE : reflecting or pertaining to the roots values and
traditions highly respected by the Rastas (1)
CUSS-CUSS : a quarrel or fracas, with lots of cursing. (5)
CUT YAI : to cut your eye at somebody is a very common means of
expressing scorn or contempt, for example; one catches
the other person's eye, then deliberatly turns one's
own eyes as an insult. (5)
You can also cut your eye at somebody in a friendly way.
(29)
CUTCHIE : pipe for communal smoking. (5)
CYA : 1. to care; "donkya", don't care, careless; "no kya"
means no matter, as in "no kya weh im tun",
no matter where he turns.
2. to carry. (5)
CYAAN : can't. (5)
CYAI : to carry. (5)
CYAN : can. (5)
D.J. : a person who sings or scats along with dub music,
sometimes called "toasting" (2)
DAAL : split peas, usually a thick soup, from Indian cuisine,
from Hindi. (5)
DADA : father (6)
DALLY : executive zig-zag movements on wheels (2) or on foot (6)
to ride a bicycle or motorbike with a weaving motion,
as when ones weaves around potholes. (5)
DAN DADA : the highest of DON'S (6)
DAN : than (5)
DARKERS : sunglasses (6)
DASHEEN : a big soft yam-like root, often slightly greyish when
cooked. It is related to the coco, but one eats the
"head" instead of the tubers. (5)
DAWTA : a girl, woman, "sister," girlfriend (1)
DEAD HOOD : (the H is silent) = A man that can't perform sexually.
Impotent.
(14)(29)
DEADERS : meat, meat by-products (1)
DEESTANT : decent. (5)
DEGE or DEGE-DEGE : adjective, little, skimpy, measly, only, as in a two
dege-dege banana. (5)
DEH : there (place) (6)
DEY : v. to be, exist, as in "No yam no dey". From Ewe de or
Twi de - to be (7)
DEY 'PON : (aux. v.) - to be engaged in action or continuing
activity (35) literally "there upon" As in "it dey pon
de table". (29)
DI : the (6)
DILDO MACCA : dangerous macca or thorn that will bore you up (29)
DINKI : a kind of traditional dance at funerals or "nine nights"
("set-ups"); now popular among school children. (5)
DIS or DIS YA : this (6)
DJEW : as a verb, rain a djew; as a noun, djew rain.
It means a light rain or drizzle. (5)
DOGHEART : a person who is especially cold and cruel (6)
DOLLY : executive zig-zag movements on wheels (2)
DON : one who is respected, master of a situation (6)
DONKYA : from "don't care"; careless, sloppy, lacking ambition,
etc. (5)
DOONDOOS : an albino. (5)
DOWNPRESSOR : preferred term for oppressor (1)
DOTI : "Dutty" means dirty, dirt or earth (19)(29)
(TO) DRAW CARD : the act of fooling someone (6)
DREAD : 1. a person with dreadlocks
2. a serious idea or thing
3. a dangerous situation or person
4. the "dreadful power of the holy"
5. experientially, "awesome, fearful confrontation of
a people with a primordial but historically denied
racial selfhood" (1)
DREADLOCKS : 1. hair that is neither combed nor cut 2. a person with
dreadlocks (1)
DREADY : a friendly term for a fellow dread (1)
DUB : a roots electronic music, created by skillful,
artistic re-engineering of recorded tracks (2)
DUCK-ANTS : white ants, or termites. (5)
DUKUNU : sweet corn-meal dumplings boiled in wrapped leaves. (5)
DUNDUS : an albino. (5)
DUNGLE : n. legendary West Kingston slum surrounding a garbage
dump, now cleared. (7)
: From English dunghill
DUNS,DUNSA : money (1)
DUPPY : a ghost (1)
DUTCHY : dutch cooking pot, low round-bottomed heavy pot. (5)
EASE-UP : to forgive, to lighten up (6)
EVERYTING COOK
& CURRY : all is well, all is taken care of (6)
FALLA FASHIN : Copycat (13)
FAS' : to be fast with, meaning to be rude, impertinent,
to meddle with sombody's business, to be forward, etc.
(5)
FASSY : eczema-like scratchy sores on the skin;
also a verb meaning to cause oneself to be covered with
fassy by scratching. (5)
FAASTI (FIESTY) : impertinent, rude, impudent (35)
FAYVA : to favour, resemble, or look like; "fayva like"
also means "it seems as if". (5)
FE (FI) : the infinitive "to" as in "Have fe go" (7)
: "a fe" Have to (28) "fe dem" their (28)
FEEL NO WAY : don't take offense, don't be sorry, don't worry (1)
FENKY-FENKY : (from finicky) choosy, proud, stuck-up. (5)
FENNEH : v. to feel physical distress, pain. From Twi
fene-to vomit; Fante fena-to be troubled; Lumba
feno-to faint (7)
FI (FE) : possessive. "fi me"-"mine" (7) Can also mean
: "for" or "to", as in "I ha' fi", I have to.
: Yu num fi du dat = You are not to do that. (12)
Fe is Fi as in fi ar means hers
fi im - his
fi dem - theirs
fi you - yours
fi me - mine (29)
FIESTY (FAASTI) : impudent, rude, out of order, cheeky. (5)
FIRST LIGHT : tomorrow (1)
(HIM A) FISH : a gay person (6)
FIT : when used of fruits and vegetables,
it means ready to pick, full grown,
though not necessarily fully ripe. (5)
also means in good shape. ("You haffe fit!") (31)
FORWARD : 1. to go, move on, set out 2. in the future (1)
FRONTA : tobacco leaf used to roll herb (1)
FUCKERY : wrong, unfair (6)
FULLNESS,
TO THE FULLNESS : completely, absolutely, totally (1)
FUNDS : Money (6)
GAAN A BED : an adverbial phrase; following a verb of liking or
loving, it has a superlative meaning;
Can be used in any context,
such as "I love hafu yam gaan to bed!". (5)
means very much as in liking very much (29)
GALANG : go along. (23)
GANJA : herb, marijuana (1)
GANSEY : t-shirt, any knit shirt (2)
(TO) GET SALT : to be thwarted, to encounter misfortune (6)
GATES : home, yard (1)
GENERAL : cool operator (1)
GI : give (28)
GIG : spinning top. (5)
GILL : unit of measure like pint. (42)
GINNAL : n. trickster, con-man, an Amnancy figure as in "Sunday
Ginnal"-a preacher or clergyman (7)
GLAMITY : a woman's genitals (6)
GORGON : outstanding dreadlocks (1) a dragon (29)
(DON) GORGON : outstanding dreadlocks, a person who is respected (2,6)
GRAVALICIOUS : greedy, avaricious. (5)
GRINDSMAN : one who displays great prowess in bed(6)
GROUNATION : large, island-wide meeting and celebration of Rastas (1)
GROUND : home, yard (4)
HACKLE : to hassle, bother, worry, trouble. As a noun, hackling.
(5)
HAFFI : to have to... (6)
HAIL : a greeting (1)
HARBOUR SHARK : "Mr. Want-All" glutton, greedy, someone who wants it
all. (29)
HARD : excellent, proficient, skillful, uncompromising (1) tough (29)
HARD EARS : stubborn, doesn't listen (37)
HEETCH : itch. Many such words could be listed under H,
as initial H is added to scores of words at will. (5)
HEAD MAN JANCRO : n. albino buzzard (7)
HERB : marijuana (1)
HIEZ-HAAD : ears-hard, thick skulled, stubborn, unwilling or unable
to hear. (5)
HIEZ : ears. (5)
HIGGLERS : higglers, who are primarly woman who buy and sell goods
that they have imported into the country. Some higglers,
however, do not make trips out of the country to buy
goods, but sell the goods that others import. The
connection between higglers and dancehall culture is
crucial as they form one of the strongest international
links between JA, North America, and the Caribbean. (16)
HITEY-TITEY : upper class, high tone, "stoosh". (5) someone who pretends to
be better
than they are (29)
HOMELY : to be relaxed, comfortable, enjoying your home
surrounding. (14)
HOOD : penis. (5)
HORTICAL (DON) : respected, acclaimed (6)
HOT-STEPPER : fugitive from jail or gun court (1)
I-DREN : (n.)- male Rastafarian (35)
I-MAN : I, me, mine (1)
I-NEY : a greeting (2)
I-REY : 1. a greeting 2. excellent, cool, highest (1)
I-SHENCE : herb (1)
I-TAL : vital, organic, natural, wholesome; refers to way of
cooking and way of life (1)
in colors, red, green and gold (2)
I : replaces "me", "you", "my"; replaces the first syllable
of seleted words (1) I and I, I&I: I, me, you and me,
we (1)
Rastafari speech eliminates you, me we, they, etc.,
as divisive and replaces same with communal I and I.
I and I embraces the congregation in unity with the
Most I (high) in an endless circle of inity (unity). (3)
IEZ-HAAD : ears-hard, thick skulled, stubborn, unwilling or
unable to hear. (5)
IEZ : ears. (5)
ILIE : adj. literally, "highly", valuable, exalted, even
sacred (7)
IGNORANT : short-tempered, easy to vex, irate. (5)
INNA DI MORROWS : tomorrow (6)
INNA : In the (4)
IRIE : A Greeting. excellent, cool, highest (1)
: adj. powerful and pleasing (7)
ISES/IZES/ISIS : praises (11) Praises to the almighty given by Rasta
: when calling on the name of Jah for strength and
: assistance for achieving progress in life. (30)
ISMS and SKISMS : negative term denoting Babylon's classificatory systems
(1)
ITES : 1. the heights
2. a greeting
3. the color red (1) great (2)
4. another word for irie. Or you use it to mean "OK"
as in when someone asks you to do something
for you, you would reply, "Ites." (29)
IWA : certain time or hour (43)
JA, JAM-DOWN : Jamaica (1)
JACKASS ROPE : homegrown tobacco, twisted into a rope. (5)
JAH KNOW : Lord knows (1)
JAH : God; possibly derived as a shortened form of Jahweh or
Jehovah (1)
Jah Ras Tafari, Haille Selassie, King of Kings, Lord of
Lords, conquering Lion of Judah; rastas revere Haile
Selassie as the personification of the Almighty (2)
JAMDUNG : Jamaica, "Jam" to press down "dung" down. Ironic
reference to social and economic conditions of the
masses (7)
JAMMIN : to be having a good time, to be dancing calypso/soca (6)
JANCRO : n. literally John Crow, buzzard (7)
JANGA : shrimp, crayfish. (5)
JELLY : a young coconut, full of jelly. (5)
JON CONNU : n. (John Canoe). Bands of elaborately masked dancers
appearing around Christmas. They ressemble the
ancestral dancers of West Africa, but the ety. of the
word is unclear. (7)
JOOK : to pierce or stick, as with a thorn or a long pointed
stick. (5) also used in a sexual context (29)
JOOKS : hangout, relax (29)
JUDGIN' : adjective, everyday or ordinary clothes or shoes worn
in the yard or in the bush, as in "judgin' boot".
Also as a verb, to judge, with a similar meaning. (5)
JUU : as a verb, rain a juu; as a noun, juu rain.
It means a light rain or drizzle. (5)
KALI; COOLY : marijuana (1)
KALLALOO : a dark, green leafy vegetable, very nutritious and
cheap. (5)
KASS KASS : n. quarrel or contention. From combination of English
curse or cuss, and Twi kasa kasa-to dispute verbally (7)
KATA : a roll of cloth or vegetation placed on top of the head
to cushion the skull from the weight of a head load. (5)
KAYA : see ganja (4)
KETCH UP : grapple (28) get in a fight (29)
KETCHY-CHUBY : It can be a sexual term meaning the man throw
it and the woman catch it! It can also mean a game
- life's game, how to see through today to meet tomorrow
and all the games of life as in "life is just a
ketchy-chuby game." (29)
KEMPS : a little bit, a tiny piece, from skimps. (5)
KIN TEET : "skin teeth" to laugh at someone or give them a
plastic smile, sometimes used derogatorily as in
"A little kin-teet bwoy." (29)
KISS ME NECK! : common exclamation of surprise. (5)
KISS TEET : to kiss one's teeth or to suck one's teeth is to make
the very common hissing noise of disappoval, dislike,
vexation or disappointment. (5)
KOUCHIE : bowl of a chalice or chillum pipe (1)
KRENG-KRENG : an old-fashioned meat rack, hung up high over the fire
to catch the smoke. (5)
KUMINA : n. Ecstatic dance for the purpose of communicating with
ancestors. From Twi akom-to be possessed and ana-by an
ancestor (7)
LABA-LABA : to chat, gab; gossip. (5)
LABRISH : gossip, chit-chat. (5)
LAGGA HEAD : Dumb acts as if you have no common sense. Stupid.
: "yu dam Lagga head bud" (14)
LAMBSBREAD : a form of high-quality marijuana (1)
LARGE : respected (6)
LET OFF : pay out (28)
LEGGO BEAS' : wild, disorderly, like a let-go beast. (5)
LICK : To hit (13)
LICKY-LICKY : fawning, flattering, obsequious. (5)
LIKKLE : little (29)
LILLY BIT : little bit, tiny. (5)
LION : a righteous Dread (1) a great soul (2)
LIKKLE MORE : see you later (2)
(TOO) LIKKY-LIKKY : title given to those who like to eat any food they
encounter , without discretion (6)
MAAMA MAN : a gay person, an effeminate man, a weakling (6)
MAAS : n. from master or massa. Now freed from its class
origin; a respectful form of address to an older man.
(7)
chill out, be by ones self for a while (24)
MACCA : thorn, prickle. dangerous. (29)
MACCA BACK : boney fish used to make fish soup (29)
MADDA : mother (6)
MAFIA : big-time criminals (1)
MAGA DOG : mongrel (4)
MAGA : thin (2) (from meagre) (5)
MAMPI : Fat or overweight (13)
MANACLES : chains (11)
MANNERS : under heavy discipline or punishment. for example
when Kingston is under "heavy manners", they have a
curfew or call out the army. (10)
MARINA : a man's undershirt, guernsey; a tank-top style. (5)
MAROON : n. free black warrior-communities which successfully
resisted British hegemony during eighteenth century
and early nineteenth century. From Spanish cimmaron-
untamed, wild (7)
MASCOT : denoting inferior status (2)
MASH IT UP : a huge success (1)
MASH UP, MASH DOWN : destroy (1)
MASSIVE : respected (6), used with LARGE to add emphasis
MATEY : mistress (12)
MEK WE : Let Us. (4)
MENELIK, RAS : n. Ethiopian nobleman who rallied his troops to resist
Italian aggression. Defeated Italians at Adowa 1896 (7)
MONKS : amongst. (5)
MORE TIME : see you later (1)
MR. MENTION : Talk of the town, originally talk of the females
signifying someone with many female conquests
MR. T : the boss (2)
MUS MUS : a rat (4)
MY BABY MOTHER
/FATHER : the mother/father of my child (1,6)
MYAL : n. a form of benign magic oposed to Obeah, hence
myalman. From Hursa maye-wizard, person of mystic
power. (7)
NAGAH : n. pejorative for a black person (7)
NAGO : n. Yoruba person, practice or language. From Ewe
anago-Yoruba person (7)
NAH : adv. will not. Emphatic as in "Me nah do that" (7)
NANA : midwife; nanny or nurse. (5)
NANNY GOAT : "What sweet nanny goat a go run him belly" is a
cautionary Jamaican proverb which translated means:
What tastes good to a goat will ruin his belly. In
other words - the things that seem good to you now,
can hurt you later... (10)
NASH : female genatali |