rasta

plural rastas

1. informalRastafarian
2. diminutiveinformalDiminutive of rastaquouère

1. Rastafari.

   Synonyms: Rastafarianism

plural Rastas

1. A Rastafarian.

   Yet in adopting this oppositional belief system and alternative lifestyle, the Rastas faced severe social ostracism.

   2000, Norman C. Stolzoff, Wake the Town and Tell the People: Dancehall Culture in Jamaica, Durham, N.C.; London: Duke University Press, published 2002, →ISBN, page 79

   2 more examples

   Second, the perceived lack of militancy on the part of Rastas may also indicate the extent to which Rastafari has become a familiar presence on Jamaica’s social scene.

   2003, Ennis Barrington Edmonds, Rastafari: From Outcasts to Culture Bearers, Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 124

   Nadine Sutherland, a former Bob Marley protégé, a culture studies scholar and the daughter of a longtime Rasta, reflects on the global impact of Lauryn [Hill]’s image, particularly as it pertained to black women’s expressions of their sexuality: […]

   2018, Joan Morgan, She Begat This: Twenty Years of The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, Atria Paperback, →ISBN, page 40

1. not comparableRastafarian.

   “You know my boyfriend has divine dreads. He’s Rasta. And he speaks fluent Jamaican patois,” she ended proudly.

   2005, Jackee Budesta Batanda, “Life Sucks… Sometimes”, in Seventh Street Alchemy: A Selection of Works from the Caine Prize for African Writing, Johannesburg: Jacana Media, →ISBN, “African Writers’ Workshop Stories 2005” section, page 111

   2 more examples

   “You don’t hafi dread to be Rasta,” as the song by Morgan Heritage says. Many people who have Rasta leanings don’t always wear dreads but support the faith in other ways. Those who wear locks but aren’t Rasta are looked down on as imposters […]

   2011, Nick Davis, “Rastafari”, in Jamaica (Culture Smart! The Essential Guide to Customs & Culture), London: Kuperard, →ISBN, chapter 3 (Customs and Traditions), page 60

   When it comes to someone with dreadlocks, a range of such assumptions are made: he’s Jamaican, he’s Rasta, he plays reggae; […]

   2015, Bert Ashe, Twisted: My Dreadlock Chronicles, Chicago, Ill.: Bolden, →ISBN, front flap