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
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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:
At times, he has swapped his dance clothes for traditional Nigerian outfits, including the flowing agbada and dashiki.
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026
He was tieless, wearing a solid‑black dashiki, and he spoke softly at first, almost cautious.
From Slate ● Jun. 16, 2025
And when Pearson, a young black man who is a powerful orator, wears his hair natural and chooses a formal dashiki over a western suit and tie, his very presence is a challenge.
From Salon ● Apr. 15, 2023
He was elected in January 2023 and caused a backlash when he wore a dashiki to be sworn in.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 7, 2023
I should be celebrating the fact that I got my dashiki back.
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
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
He started dressing differently, wearing headwraps, multi-colored dashikis and long wooden necklaces with heavy ankhs dangling from the end.
From Salon ● May 29, 2021
The halls are filled with seventh graders wearing white coats, army fatigues, dashikis, and a kimono.
From "Amina's Song" by Hena Khan
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
