Meanings
nountoubab (plural toubabs)
plural toubabs
- AfricaCentralWestA white person.
Jean-Baptiste was my only real white friend in the trench. He was the only Toubab who came to console me after the death of Mademba Diop.
2018, David Diop, chapter 10, in Anna Moschovakis, transl., At Night All Blood Is Black, London: PushkinSynonyms: white person
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA white person.
Similar
Origin
The most likely earliest derivation is from the Wolof word for Europe, "Tougal". In the same way that Wolof means the people of Jollof, Toubab means the people of Tougal.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
toubab. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/toubab
MLA
“toubab.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/toubab. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “toubab,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/toubab.
Source: toubab on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.