dashiki
Americannoun
-
dashikis
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of dashiki
From Yoruba dàńṣíkí, from Hausa dán cíkí (with imploded d )
Explanation
A dashiki is an African shirt that's loose and colorful. You'll stand out in a crowd if you wear a dashiki. If you like wearing bright colors and being comfortable, you might enjoy wearing a dashiki. This pullover garment, mainly worn by men, is a staple wherever West Africans are found. It’s colorful, loose, and long. Someone wearing a dashiki is easy to spot. The closest type of American shirt is probably a Hawaiian shirt, which is also quite colorful. If you prefer clothes that are tight or drab, dashikis aren’t for you. Dashiki comes from Yoruba, a Nigerian language.
Vocabulary lists containing dashiki
Joyous Kwanzaa! Vocabulary Worth Celebrating
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Dear Martin
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
He was tieless, wearing a solid‑black dashiki, and he spoke softly at first, almost cautious.
From Slate ● Jun. 16, 2025
Earlier this year, Pearson wore a dashiki for his swearing-in ceremony.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 28, 2023
At his swearing into office earlier this year, Justin proudly wore a dashiki in honor of his ancestors.
From Salon ● Apr. 15, 2023
He noted the scrutiny he received for wearing a black dashiki — a tunic-like garment that originated in west Africa — for session, rather than a suit and tie.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 9, 2023
“I … I don’t know that the dashiki is really my style, Ma.”
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
Classrooms feature maps of Africa and brown paper figures wearing dashikis, a garment worn mostly in West Africa.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 26, 2023
The release of the film created a slew of fans posting movie-inspired outfits, masks and dashikis under #WakandaForever.
From Salon ● Jan. 28, 2023
It was a time of Black Power, Afros and dashikis, yet I was welcomed graciously.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 21, 2022
He will often wear the colors of a historically Black college or university or one of the dashikis he had custom-made during visits to Africa.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2022
Everyone wears dashikis, kabas and slits, shirts sewn with kente cloth, and other traditional Ghanaian garb that I’d never be caught in at school.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
