Rastafarian Dictionary Phrases and Words D - J


D
D.J.: a person who sings or scats along with dub music, sometimes called "toasting" 
DAAL: split peas, usually a thick soup, from Indian cuisine, from Hindi. 
DADA: father 
DALLY: executive zig-zag movements on wheels or on foot to ride a bicycle or motorbike with a weaving motion, as when ones weaves around potholes. 
DAN DADA: the highest of DON'S 
DAN: than 
DARKERS: sunglasses 
DASHEEN: a big soft yam-like root, often slightly greyish when cooked. It is related to the coco, but one eats the "head" instead of the tubers. 
DAWTA: a girl, woman, "sister," girlfriend 
DEAD WOOD: (the w is silent) = A man that can't perform sexually. Impotent. 
DEADERS: meat, meat by-products 
DEESTANT: decent. 
DEGE or DEGE-DEGE : adjective, little, skimpy, measly, only, as in a two dege-dege banana. 
DEH: there (place) 
DEY: v. to be, exist, as in "No yam no dey". From Ewe de or Twi  de - to be 
DEY 'PON : (aux. v.) - to be engaged in action or continuing activity 
DI: the 
DINKI: a kind of traditional dance at funerals or "nine nights" ("set-ups"); now popular among school children. 
DIS or DIS YA: this 
DJEW: as a verb, rain a djew; as a noun, djew rain. It means a light rain or drizzle. 
DOGHEART: a person who is especially cold and cruel 
DOLLY: executive zig-zag movements on wheels 
DON: one who is respected, master of a situation 
DONKYA: from "don't care"; careless, sloppy, lacking ambition, 
etc. 
DOONDOOS: an albino. 
DOWNPRESSOR: preferred term for oppressor 
DOTI: earth 
(TO) DRAW CARD: the act of fooling someone 
DREAD: 1. a person with dreadlocks; 2. a serious idea or thing; 3. a dangerous situation or person; 4. the "dreadful power of the holy"; 5. experientially, "awesome, fearful confrontation of 
a people with a primordial but historically denied racial selfhood" 
DREADLOCKS: 1. hair that is neither combed nor cut; 2. a person with dreadlocks 
DREADY: a friendly term for a fellow dread 
DUB: a roots electronic music, created by skillful, artistic re-engineering of recorded tracks 
DUCK-ANTS: white ants, or termites. 
DUKUNU: sweet corn-meal dumplings boiled in wrapped leaves. 
DUNDUS: an albino. 
DUNGLE: n. legendary West Kingston slum surrounding a garbage dump, now cleared. :From English dunghill 
DUNS,DUNSA: money 
DUPPY: a ghost 
DUTCHY: dutch cooking pot, low round-bottomed heavy pot. 




E
EASE-UP: to forgive, to lighten up 
EVERYTING COOK & CURRY: all is well, all is taken care of 

FALLA FASHIN: Copycat 
FAS': to be fast with, meaning to be rude, impertinent, to meddle with sombody's business, to be forward, etc. 
FASSY: eczema-like scratchy sores on the skin; also a verb meaning to cause oneself to be covered with fassy by scratching. 
FAASTIE: impertinent, rude, impudent 
FAYVA: to favour, resemble, or look like; "fayva like" also means "it seems as if". 
FE: the infinitive "to" as in "Have fe go": "a fe" Have to  "fe dem" their 
FEEL NO WAY: don't take offense, don't be sorry, don't worry 
FENKY-FENKY: (from finicky) choosy, proud, stuck-up. 
FENNEH: v. to feel physical distress, pain. From Twi fene-to vomit; Fante fena-to be troubled; Lumba feno-to faint 
FI: possessive. "fi me"-"mine" Can also mean: "for" or "to", as in "I ha' fi", I have to: Yu num fi du dat = You are not to do that. 
FIESTY: impudent, rude, out of order, cheeky. 
FIRST LIGHT: tomorrow 
(HIM A) FISH: a gay person 
FIT: when used of fruits and vegetables, it means ready to pick, full grown, though not necessarily fully ripe. also means in good shape.  ("You haffe fit!") 
FORWARD: 1. to go, move on, set out 2. in the future 
FRONTA: tobacco leaf used to roll herb 
FUC-ERY: wrong, unfair 
FULLNESS, TO THE FULLNESS : completely, absolutely, totally 
FUNDS:  Money 
G
GAAN TO BED: an adverbial phrase; following a verb of liking or loving, it has a superlative meaning; Can be used in any context, such as "I love hafu yam gaan to bed!". 
GALANG: go along. 
GANJA: herb, marijuana 
GANSEY: t-shirt, any knit shirt 
(TO) GET SALT: to be thwarted, to encounter misfortune 
GATES : home, yard 
GENERAL: cool operator 
GI: give 
GIG: spinning top. 
GINNAL: n. trickster, con-man, an Amnancy figure as in "Sunday Ginnal"-a preacher or clergyman 
GLAMITY: a woman's genitals 
GORGON: outstanding dreadlocks 
(DON) GORGON: outstanding dreadlocks, a person who is respected (2,6) 
GRAVALICIOUS: greedy, avaricious. 
GRINDSMAN: one who displays great prowess in bed 
GROUNATION: large, island-wide meeting and celebration of Rastas 
GROUND: home, yard 
H
HACKLE: to hassle, bother, worry, trouble. As a noun, hackling. 
HAFFI  : to have to... 
HAIL: a greeting 
HARD: excellent, proficient, skillful, uncompromising 
HARD EARS: stubborn, doesn't listen 
HEETCH: itch. Many such words could be listed under H, as initial H is added to scores of words at will. 
HEAD MAN JANCRO: n. albino buzzard 
HERB: marijuana 
HIEZ-HAAD: ears-hard, thick skulled, stubborn, unwilling or unable to hear. 
HIEZ: ears. 
HIGGLERS: higglers, who are primarly woman who buy and sell goods that they have imported into the country. Some higglers, however, do not make trips out of the country to buy goods, but sell the goods that others import.  The connection between higglers and dancehall culture is crucial as they form one of the strongest international links between JA, North America, and the Caribbean. HITEY-TITEY: upper class, high tone, "stoosh". 
HOMELY: to be relaxed, comfortable, enjoying your home surrounding. 
HOOD: penis. 
HORTICAL (DON): respected, acclaimed 
HOT-STEPPER: fugitive from jail or gun court 
I
I-DREN: (n.)- male Rastafarian 
I-MAN: I, me, mine 
I-NEY: a greeting 
I-REY: 1. a greeting 2. excellent, cool, highest 
I-SHENCE: herb 
I-TAL: vital, organic, natural, wholesome; refers to way of cooking and way of life in colors, red, green and gold 
I: replaces "me", "you", "my"; replaces the first syllable of seleted words I and I, I&I: I, me, you and me, we Rastafari speech eliminates you, me we, they, etc., as divisive and replaces same with communal I and I. I and I embraces the congregation in unity with the Most I (high) in an endless circle of inity (unity).
IEZ-HAAD: ears-hard, thick skulled, stubborn, unwilling or unable to hear.
IEZ: ears. 
ILIE: adj. literally, "highly", valuable, exalted, even sacred 
IGNORANT: short-tempered, easy to vex, irate. 
INNA DI MORROWS: tomorrow 
INNA: In the 
IRIE: A Greeting. excellent, cool, highest: adj. powerful and pleasing 
ISES/IZES/ISIS: praises  Praises to the almighty given by Rasta: when calling on the name of Jah for strength and: assistance for achieving progress in life. 
ISMS and SKISMS: negative term denoting Babylon's classificatory systems 
ITES: 1. the heights; 2. a greeting; 3. the color red great 
J
JA, JAM-DOWN: Jamaica 
JACKASS ROPE : homegrown tobacco, twisted into a rope. 
JAH KNOW: Lord knows 
JAH: God; possibly derived as a shortened form of Jahweh or Jehovah Jah Ras Tafari, Haille Selassie, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, conquering Lion of Judah; rastas revere Haile Selassie as the personification of the Almighty
JAMDUNG: Jamaica, "Jam" to press down "dung" down. Ironic reference to social and economic conditions of the masses 
JAMMIN: to be having a good time, to be dancing calypso/soca 
JANCRO: n. literally John Crow, buzzard 
JANGA: shrimp, crayfish. 
JELLY: a young coconut, full of jelly. 
JON CONNU: n. (John Canoe). Bands of elaborately masked dancers appearing around Christmas. They ressemble the ancestral dancers of West Africa, but the ety. of the word is unclear.
JOOK: to pierce or stick, as with a thorn or a long pointed stick. 
JUDGIN': adjective, everyday or ordinary clothes or shoes worn in the yard or in the bush, as in "judgin' boot". Also as a verb, to judge, with a similar meaning.
JUU: as a verb, rain a juu; as a noun, juu rain. It means a light rain or drizzle. 

Site Menu

Home
Jamaica Holiday
Towns of Jamaica
Rastafarian
Caribbean Dream
Jamaica Hotels
Bookmark Site

Rasta Dictionary A-C
Rasta Dictionary D-J
Rasta Dictionary K-Q
Rasta Dictionary R-Z


Site Map