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mambo

noun

  1. Latin dance of Cuba
L323584 on Wikidata ↗

verb

No English definition recorded for this entry.

L332170 on Wikidata ↗

Wiktionary

Pronunciation: /ˈmæmbəʊ/ / /ˈmɑmboʊ/

noun

Etymology: From Haitian Creole manbo (“voodoo priestess”) (ultimately from Yoruba mambo (“to talk”)), in later senses via Cuban Spanish mambo (“dance”).

  1. A voodoo priestess (in Haiti)

    The mambo next presented a container of water to the cardinal points, then poured libations to the centerpost of the peristyle, the axis along which the spirits were to enter.

    The manbo showed her how to take small handfuls of liquid and spread it on her skin always moving in the upward direction.

  2. A Latin-American musical genre, adapted from rumba, originating from Cuba in the 1940s, or a dance or rhythm of this genre.

verb

Etymology: From Haitian Creole manbo (“voodoo priestess”) (ultimately from Yoruba mambo (“to talk”)), in later senses via Cuban Spanish mambo (“dance”).

  1. To perform this dance.