kwela
See also: kwe'la
English
editEtymology
editNoun
editkwela (uncountable)
- (South Africa, music) A style of music, first played in the townships, whose principal instrument is the penny whistle.
Usage notes
edit- The term "kwela" is derived from the Zulu for "get up", though in township slang it also referred to the police vans, the "kwela-kwela". Thus it could be an invitation to join the dance as well as a warning. It is said that the young men who played the pennywhistle on street corners also acted as lookouts to warn those enjoying themselves in the illegal drinking dens of the arrival of the cops. [1]
Anagrams
editTagalog
editAdjective
editkwela (Baybayin spelling ᜃ᜔ᜏᜒᜎ)
Usage notes
editThis spelling does not follow the rule of double vowel clusters with an /i/ or /u/ as the first vowel following a double consonant (where the standard is to retain the vowel cluster and add a ⟨y⟩ or ⟨w⟩ in between). See Appendix:Tagalog spellings for details.