Yoruba Dictionary

we

a prefix denoting future

protection

half

lightening

fatigue, sickness

center, middle

morning

fasting

quarrel

cockroach

effort, perseverance

favorite

farm settlement, small village

suggestion

pudding

notable, extraordinary, marked

regret, remorse

slap

healthy person

marsh, swamp

stain

razor

under, genitals

fan

candle

underground

abẹ́òkúta, name of a town

needle

wicked

hereditary, traditional

woman with a family

female

bowl

arrival

reserve

greeting to a diviner

trickery

pregnant woman

hunchback

shortcoming, shame

blessing

village

umbrella

younger sibling

machete

turtle dove

a category of healers that might possess the knowledge of divination and herbs but neither a priest nor a herbalist, someone that does things without guidance or following established rules

judge

bat

loss

alias

inheritance

crown

agreement, appointment

chicken

oil obtained from kernel of palm oil, unguent

traditional tie-dye cloth made by yoruba women, batik

a deaf person

Adótown

Benin City

small gourd

ward, quarter in a town

African, a black person

sweetness

prayer

unpredictable situation

bridge

indolence, slackness

honeycomb

breeze, wind

exception

albinos

Africa

comparison, metaphor

gap, blank, valley

blind

impertinence

mistletoe

pardon, magnanimity, forgiveness

endurance

invocation, incantation

ladder

chair

hypocrite, tartuffe

scimitar

padlock

a barren person

Aganju deity, an avatar of Sango

barrel

adult

traditional flowing robe worn by yoruba men

maize

backyard

force, strength

torrent

skull

mendicity

gourd

farmer

center, midway between two points

forge, blacksmith

building with multiple floors

cross

supporter

arrogant

adultery, fornication

insult, impertinence, insolence

herd, crowd

traditional medicinal concoction

ram

wasp

chin

coconut

deer, gazelle

compound of houses

chameleon

Ogun's drum and rhythm

obstinacy, stubbornness

wilderness, desert

permission to enter a home

tent, encampment

bell, clock, time

Venus (planet)

Catholic, Afro-Brazilian returnee

crowned crane

traditional medicinal powder

sheep

small calabash used for drinking

farm shack

tongue

ruins

tortoise

countless, indeterminate

poverty, deprivation

dog

ceiling

elephant

orisa aje, the deity of wealth and prosperity; commerce; money

esoteric knowledge; witch; witchcraft

stranger

governor, ambassador

rejuvenating medicine

resurrection, Easter

journey

meeting

maleficent forces

hornbill

fritter made from beans

scorpion

a traditional wooden bed

a type of hat

hero, courage

brave

rags

monkey

male

scabbard

bundle, collection

type of sacred tree

time

first, foremost

stammer

brave

written document or text

rooster

dream

white cloth

peace, good health

king of ọ̀yó

chairperson, president

blacksmith

King of the Ègba

lizard

spider

swallow

butcher

the most senior title holder among the Egungun devotees

explanation

evening

concubine

defect, fault

stranger

riddle, folktale

blessing

bàtá drummer

onion

Muslim priest, imam, Christian priest

kind of rhythm associated with Sango deity

evil spirit

reliability

treasure

ablutions

food made of yam flour

America

spy

Amen

mark, symbol

clay

but

potter

yesterday

in-law, relative by marriage

ancient Yoruba language, Yoruba subgroup in Western Yorubaland

advantage, privilege

solicitude

handkerchief

arm

scar

prodigal

storyteller

set, addition

joke

partridge, bush fowl

rock

applause

example

reunion

basket

type of drum

quiver

bag, pocket

stomach

bachelor

body

citizen of

novelty, fashion, style

cotton silk tree

variegated

velvet

dwarf

stranger, bohemian

Western style marriage

eldest son of a king

indigo

lament, dirge

cripple, disabled

funnel

newborn child, infant

petty retail trading, middleman business

old person

five

disease

rascal, deviant person

kite

uselessness

divine power, authority, order, vital force

menstruation

excess, exaggeration

prostitute

flag

a wicked person

pioneer; official title in many associations

secret

a mad person, a lunatic

cloth

representative

pepper

important

hat

resin

saltless food, insipidity

wind

ladder

sole of the foot

palm of the hand

and

past times, antiquity

a female Egungun (ancestors) devotee that's been initiated

we (emphatic)

joke

obedience

disobedience

buying on credit

repetition

secret, knowledge

guinea fowl

eyeglasses

skin, leather

plate

color

kite

tongue

net

they (emphatic)

assembly, public, audience

Hausa

wife

chest

queen

th orisha (deity) of drums, music, and percussion, the traditional title and prefix for a drummer

destiny, fate

world, life

chance, opportunity, space

happiness, joy

join

perch, impinge on, hit

head of the family

chief of a town

airplane

an ederly man with experience; a older man with knowledge and wisdom that can also be used interchangeably with bàbá agba

father, a term of respect to address someone old enough to be one's father

guinea corn, millet

grandfather, elder, a term of respect to address someone old enough to be one's grandfather

forefather, ancestor, godfather

spoil

touch the ground, land

high-ranking military commander, war chief, warlord

fit

Prime Minister, Chancellor, head of Ọ̀yọ́ Mèsi council of chiefs in Oyo empire

shoe

how

right now, like this

peel, slit

cut off, remove

beg, request

to beg, plead, apologize

thus

yes

benbe drum, religious ceremony

begin

ask

give birth to

vomit

like

to be angry, annoyed

peel

cover

worship

slip, escape, exit

to return, come

gentleman, respectable person

roasted plantain

ball

shapeless

malt

perhaps, maybe

become moldy

insult, abuse

a tradional garment worn by women or men

bad

reduce

increase

give, endow

swear

bread

ugly

evil, naughty, wicked

bad

the primordial female deity

you, mostly used someone older or in a formal interaction

vicinity, outside, edge

food made from cassava flour

heap for planting

hunger

family

guilt

sacrifice, offering

deity, spirit, mythological supernatural creature

gift

harbor

copy

creature

language

liver

lungs

one of Orunmila's praise name

stone ax, thunderbolt

European, Caucasian, English or any European language

charcoal

smoke

fragment

strange occurence

half of a penny/kobo

bark; peel of fruit

ant

dirt, filth

taboo

buffalo

mosquito

chalk

bracelet, bangle

whip

Egba people, a Yoruba sub-group

paralysis

Egbado people, a Yoruba sub-group

chorus

association, club, society

side

uninitiated person, layperson

one thousand

root

a Yoruba dish made from corn

medicine; herbal medicine

older sibling or relative

dirt, filth (moral)

cassava

thorn

bone

Yoruba masquerade or masked costumed figure and festival honoring ancestors

segregation, isolation

hare, often use wrongly for rabbit

fish

seven

promise

blood

rain

two

diastema

ejigbo town where Òrisà Ògiyán hail from

twins

snake

lawsuit, civil or criminal case

eight

ekiti people, a subgroup of Yoruba

heap, large mound

lagos City

lesson, education

earthworm

rat

palm nut

yoruba food made from beans similar to moin-moin, one of the food offerings offered to Obatala.

rat

surplus, excess

actor

how much?

tool, utensil, instrument

yam flour

me, I (emphatic)

one (counting)

person, human being

curse

palm oil, oil

play

mask, carved figure

advantage, profit

beans, raw legume

elephant

orisha erinlẹ associated with hunting and the earth

thought

crowd, passenger, traveler, gathering of lot of people

ingredient, element

dishonesty

dust

warthog, hog

reply

last year, past season

fly

fruit

the messenger diety

plan, project, intention

lip

ear

atonement

leaf

young; youthful times

which one?

danger

grey hair

goat

this, this one

tooth

back

woman, a female person

man, a male person

stone, a piece of rock

child, offspring