semba

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noun

A genre of traditional music and dance from Angola.

OriginPortuguese semba ← Kimbundu semba ← Proto-Bantu [Term?] →
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Meanings

nounsemba (uncountable)
  1. uncountableentertainmentA genre of traditional music and dance from Angola.

Origin

  1. Proto-Bantu[Term?]
  2. Kimbundusemba“belly-bump”
  3. Portuguesesemba
  4. Englishsemba

Borrowed from Portuguese semba, from Kimbundu semba (“belly-bump”), from Proto-Bantu [Term?]. Doublet of samba.

More words from Portuguese, Kimbundu, Proto-Bantu

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

semba. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/semba

MLA

“semba.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/semba. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “semba,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/semba.

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