bonsella

B3O1N1S1E1L1L1A1

noun

In a transaction, something extra on the side.

OriginAfrikaans bonsela ← Xhosa bansela →
Scrabble 10
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Meanings

nounbonsella (plural bonsellas)

plural bonsellas · alternative bansela

  1. South AfricaIn a transaction, something extra on the side.

    A lekker dictionary containing all the bakgat South African words has hit the bookstores. The collection of about 1,500 local words is a bonsella published in the latest edition of the Concise Oxford Dictionary, "the ultimate authority on South African English".

    2002 September 9, Peroshni Govender, “Hau, my china, it's bakgat”, in Independent Online, archived from the original on 29 Mar 2018
  2. South AfricaA tip or gratuity.
  3. South AfricaA handout.
  4. South AfricaA bribe.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
handout

Origin

  1. Xhosabansela
  2. Afrikaansbonsela
  3. Englishbonsella

Borrowed from Afrikaans bonsela, from Xhosa bansela meaning "showing thanks with a gift", related to Zulu umbhanselo a "tip".

More words from Afrikaans, Xhosa

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

bonsella. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bonsella

MLA

“bonsella.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bonsella. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bonsella,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bonsella.

Source: bonsella on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.