mancala

M3A1N1C3A1L1A1

noun

Any of various board games, common throughout Africa and Asia, in which a move consists of emptying a pit and then its contents are sown one by one into ensuing pits.

OriginArabic مَنْقَلَة →
UncommonFirst used 17th c.Scrabble 11
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Meanings

nounmancala (countable and uncountable, plural mancalas)

plural mancalas

  1. countableuncountableboard gamesAny of various board games, common throughout Africa and Asia, in which a move consists of emptying a pit and then its contents are sown one by one into ensuing pits.First known use 17th c.

    Mameh could sit on the floor to play board games like mancala with her friends, or roll out a mat and lounge about.

    2015, Eka Kurniawan, translated by Labodalih Sembiring, Man Tiger, Verso, page 109

Origin

  1. Arabicمَنْقَلَة
  2. Arabicمَنْقَلَة
  3. Englishmancala

Borrowed from Arabic مَنْقَلَة (manqala).

More words from Arabic

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Polish mankala
  • mankalafamily of games

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with mancala

galaimpalaUppsalakoalaValhallatalamasalapalaSinhalakamalachallahnyalawallahalcavalaimalalauhalalicualatambalatikka masalatrehala
All rhymes →

Anagrams

almanacNacalma
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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