The rasta
and jamaican patois dictionary
Here is a first
draw of our dictionnary. If
you want us to add a word this dictionary please mail
us.
A
|
Are,
of |
All a dem
|
All
of them. |
Armageddon
|
The
biblical final battle between the forces of good and evil. |
Babylon
|
The
corrupt establishment, the "system", Church and State, the police,
a policeman. |
Back off
|
Take
it easy, cool it. |
Badda
|
Worse |
Bag-o-wire
|
Betrayer. |
Bambu
|
Rolling
paper |
Bandulu |
Trick or fool someone. nah try fi bandulu me! |
Batty bwoy,
battie
|
Gay
person. |
Beenie
|
Little. |
Binghi
|
Wise. |
Bly
|
Chance. |
Bobo
|
Member
of the Bobo Dreads, a rasta brotherhood. |
Bubble
|
To
dance. |
Bubbler
|
Dancer. |
Bus water
|
Ejaculation. |
Bwoy
|
Boy,
person. |
Callaloo
|
Spinach
stew. |
Chalice,
chillum
|
a
pipe for smoking herb, usually made from coconut shell or CHALEWA
and tubing, used ritually by Rastas. |
Clean di
Rifle
|
Oral
sex. |
Cutchie
|
Pipe
to smoke Cannabis. |
Cuyah
|
Look
at this |
Dawta
|
Girl,
woman, sister, girlfriend. |
Degeh degeh
|
skimpy |
Deh
|
There. |
Dem
|
Them. |
Di
|
The. |
Don
|
Respected
person. |
Downpressor
|
Equivalent
for oppressor. |
Dread
|
Rasta,
fellow. |
Drop a
fa shape
|
Not
lookin good |
Dub
|
A
roots electronic music, created by skillful, artistic re-engineering
of recorded tracks. |
Dub plate
|
A
pre-release copy of a record, often produced exclusively for a specific
sound system. |
Fi
|
To
(before a verb). |
Flash
|
Leaving. |
Flash it
|
To
allow. |
Forward
|
To
repeat. |
Galang
|
move,
go away |
Ganja
|
Herb,
cannabis. |
Gimme
|
Give
me. |
Glimity,
glamity
|
Virginal
state. |
Haffi
|
Have
to. |
Hail
|
A
greeting. |
Herb
|
Marijana. |
Hot steppa
|
Fugitive. |
I
|
me |
I and I
|
I,
me, also me and you. |
Iditation
|
Meditation. |
Idren
|
Equivalent
to brother, bredren for the Rastas |
In nah,
Inna
|
In
the. |
I-ney
|
Greetings,
hail |
Irie
|
Nice,
pleasing. |
Isms, skisms
|
Negative
term denoting Babylon's classificatory systems. |
Ital
|
Stands
for " vital ", natural ie Ital vegan food, or Ital person. |
I-thiopia
|
Stands
for Ethiopia. |
Jah
|
God,
the Almighty. |
Kali, Kooly
|
Marijana. |
Kumina
|
Ecstatic
dance for the purpose of communicating with ancestors. |
Let off
|
To
give something. |
Lion
|
A
righteous Dread, a great soul. |
Manacles
|
Chains |
Maroons
|
Free
ex slaves black warrior-communities which successfully resisted British
hegemony during eighteenth century and early nineteenth century. |
Mawga
|
Skinny |
Mi
|
I. |
Nah
|
Not. |
Natty,
natty dread, natty congo
|
Dreadlocks,
a person with dreadlocks. |
Niyabinghi
|
"
Death to black and white oppressor ". Also kind of spirital drum music. |
Niyah man
|
Wise
man, same meanings that binghi man. |
Nyam
|
To
eat |
Obeah
|
traditional
African "science", relating to matters of the spirit and spirits,
spells, divinations, omens, extra-sensory knowledge, etc. |
Oil
|
Sperm. |
One love
|
a
parting phrase, expression of unity. |
Overstand
|
Understand. |
Peel
|
To
beg. |
Politricks
|
Politics. |
Pon
|
Upon. |
Pum pum
|
Virgina,
also female sex. |
Rada
|
Rather. |
Raggamuffin
|
Jamaican
ghetto dweller. |
Ras
|
A
title used by Rastafarians meaning "lord" or "head". |
Rasta,
Rastafarian
|
A
follower of Marcus Garvey who worships the Almighty in the person
of haile Selassie, King of Ethiopia. |
Rizzla
|
Brand
of rollin paper. |
Roots
|
Derived
from the experience of the common people, natural indigenous, also
a greeting, and name for a fellow Rasta. |
Rude bwoy
|
A
criminal, a hard hearted person, a tough guy. |
Sata, satta
|
To
meditate, rejice, give thanks and praise. |
Secle
|
Cool. |
Seen
|
I
understand, I agree |
Seen ?
|
Do
you understand ? |
Sinsemilla,
sensi
|
Popular,
potent, seedless, unpollinated female strain of marijuana. |
Sista,
Sister, sistren
|
Woman,
girlfriend, Rastafarian woman. |
Skank
|
to
dance to reggae music, to move with cunning, ulterior motives. |
Skettel
|
A
very loose girl, a ho, Jezebel |
Slackness
|
Lewd,
vulgar lyrics popular in DJ singing. |
Spliff
|
Large,
cone-shaped marijuana cigarette. |
Tan pon
it long
|
Staying
for a long time (sexual). |
The I
|
You. |
Upfull
|
Positive,
encouraging |
Winjy
|
Thin |
Ya
|
You. |
Yawd, Yawdi
|
Jamaican. |
Youth
|
A
child, a young man, an immature man. |
Zion
|
Ethiopia,
Africa, the Rastafarian holy land. |
|