kwela

British

/ ˈkwɛlə, ˈkweɪlə /

noun

a type of pop music popular among the Black communities of South Africa

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of kwela

C20: said to be from Zulu or Xhosa: jump up

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:

kwela

Princess Margaret herself has cut some kwela steps.

From Time Magazine Archive

In the dusty streets, urchins rock to the pennywhistle's fast kwela beat; in shabby speakeasies, women shuffle to its slower marabi rhythm.

From Time Magazine Archive

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023