agbada

From Yoruba agbádá

• IPA^(key): /æɡˈbɑːdə/

agbada (plural agbada or agbadas)

1. A long, flowing robe with wide sleeves worn by men in some parts of West Africa, often decorated with embroidery.
   • 1889, The Journal of the Manchester Geographical Society, page 66:

     In Yoruba the dress of an ordinary male Mohammedan consists of trousers, vest (togo), gown (agbada), cap and turban; and takes from 45 to 50 yards per suit, of which he is said to have two or three each year.

   • 1974, Oliver Jackson, Saw the House in Half, page 90:

     A big man wearing an agbada with gold thread embroidery at the neck and sleeves came up to him holding a glass of champagne between his thumb and forefinger.

   • 2008, Wendy Griswold, Cultures and Societies in a Changing World, page 102:

     If African leaders of the 1940s and 1950s wore suits from Savile Row and Paris as they negotiated with representatives of the colonial powers, the next generation of African leaders wore agbadas and dashikis.

   • 2008, Chike Momah, A Snake Under a Thatch, page 153:

     My main concession to my Yorubaness was the danshiki, itself also a loose top garment, though not as voluminous as the agbada.

   • 2010, Elizabeth Evans, Sanakhou, page 182:

     Over his crisp, white pantaloons and sleeveless tunic he had put on an agbada in his mother's favorite color, yellow, with simple white embroidery that ran around the hem, sleeves and the opening at the neck.

   • 2018 November 7, “Viral `Agbada’: Ebuka Obi-Uchendu’s designer hits it big”, in Vanguard‎:

     According to him, he has recorded more patronage after the media personality wore the agbada he designed, which helped to elevate his business to the extent where he could afford to gift his wife a car.

• Badaga, dagaba