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sjambok

[ sham-bok, -buhk ]
/ ʃæmˈbɒk, -ˈbʌk /
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noun
(in southern Africa) a heavy whip, usually of rhinoceros hide.
verb (used with object)
to whip with or as if with such a whip.
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Origin of sjambok

1820–30; <Afrikaans s(j)ambok<Malay cambuk whip <Hindi cābuk

Words nearby sjambok

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use sjambok in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for sjambok

sjambok
/ (ˈʃæmbʌk, in South Africa -bɒk) /

noun
a heavy whip of rhinoceros or hippopotamus hide
a stiff synthetic version of this, used in crowd control
verb -boks, -bokking or -bokked
(tr) to strike or beat with such a whip

Word Origin for sjambok

C19: from Afrikaans, from Malay samboq, chamboq, from Urdu chābuk
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
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