agbada

plural agbadas

1. A long, flowing robe with wide sleeves worn by men in some parts of West Africa, often decorated with embroidery.

   Agbada ya li ọrọn ọ bajẹ, "An agbada torn at the neck is spoilt."

   1852, Samuel Crowther, “Agbada”, in A Vocabulary of the Yoruba Language, […], London: Seeleys, […], →OCLC, page 12*

   5 more examples

   The Alake [...] tottered along with difficulty under a ponderous robe of scarlet velvet—in shape somewhat like the proctor's at Alma Mater—worn over an Ewu ágbadá or Guinea-fowl pattern of similar shape, but of less gorgeous hue.

   1863, Richard F[rancis] Burton, “The King’s Return Visit”, in Abeokuta and the Camaroons Mountains. An Exploration. … In Two Volumes, volume I, London: Tinsley Brothers, […], →OCLC, page 279

   In Yoruba the dress of an ordinary male Mohammedan consists of trousers, vest (togo), gown (agbada), cap and turban; and takes from 45 to 50 yards per suit, of which he is said to have two or three each year.

   1889 November 15, [Cornelius Alfred] Moloney, “Cotton Interests, Foreign and Native, in Yoruba, and Generally in West Africa— […]”, in The Journal of the Manchester Geographical Society, volume V, numbers 7–9, Manchester: […] Manchester Geographical Society, […], →OCLC, page 266

   A big man wearing an agbada with gold thread embroidery at the neck and sleeves came up to him holding a glass of champagne between his thumb and forefinger.

   1974, Oliver Jackman, Saw the House in Half, Washington, D.C.: Howard University Press, →ISBN, page 90

   If African leaders of the 1940s and 1950s wore suits from Savile Row and Paris as they negotiated with representatives of the colonial powers, the next generation of African leaders wore agbadas and dashikis.

   2008, Wendy Griswold, “Identities, Problems, and Movements”, in Cultures and Societies in a Changing World (Sociology for a New Century), 3rd edition, Thousand Oaks, Calif.; London: Pine Oaks Press, Sage Publications, →ISBN, page 102

   I grew up favoring the Igbo embroidered jumper over the loose and voluminous Yoruba agbada and shokoto, for festive and sometimes religious occasions. My main concession to my Yorubaness was the danshiki, itself also a loose top garment, though not as voluminous as the agbada.

   2008, Chike Momah, chapter XIII, in A Snake Under a Thatch, [Bloomington, Ind.]: Xlibris, →ISBN, page 153

   Synonyms: babanriga, boubou