Jamaican

jam-noun

Jamaican (plural Jamaican dem, quantified Jamaican)

dem (Jamaican plural)
Jamaican (quantified)

Mi haffi tell unnu dat mi a Jamaican.

I must say (to you all) that I'm a Jamaican.

“[…] 'nutten eena di world nuh sweet like when fi mi Jamaican dem go fi spoke […]”

2005, Mervyn Morris, Making West Indian Literature (in Jamaican Creole), →ISBN, page 80:

[…] nothing in the world is better than when Jamaicans attempt to speak eloquently […]


ackee

ackee (plural ackee dem, quantified ackee)

Possibly from Akan aŋkye or Kuwaa a-kee.

Nuttn nuh nice like ackee and saltfish an' fry dumplin' fi breakfast.

There's nothing better than ackee and salted codfish with fried dumplings for breakfast.


waif

“It rait dong se, ‘Eni man we lef dem waif fi gi ar di piepa we shuo se dem no marid agen.’ Bot ier wa mi a se: eni man we brok op wid im waif, an a no laik se shi did a kip man wid im ar a gwaan wid no ada seks sin, ef da uman de go marid wan neks man, a di fos ozban wuda mek shi a liv iina sin kaa nou shi wudaana sliip wid wan neks man. An di man we marid da uman de afta ar ozban lef ar, im a liv iina sin tu, kaa im a sliip wid wan neks man waif

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Matyu 5:31-32:

"It was also said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.' But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.


browning

browning (plural browning dem, quantified browning)

browning dem (plural)
browning (quantified)

Psst! Browning! Sexy dawta! Yuh nuh hear big man a call yuh?

Hey, light-skinned girl! Sexy lady! Don't you hear me calling you over?

One such song went thus:
 […]
 Dem a bleach up dem skin
 To look like browning
 […]

2002, Mervyn C. Alleyne, The Construction and Representation of Race and Ethnicity in the Caribbean (in English), →ISBN, page 225:

One such song went thus: […] They're using skin-lightening creams to look like light-skinned girls. […]


pickney

pickney (plural pickney dem, quantified pickney) (Cassidy/JLU orthography spelling pikni)

pickney dem (plural)
pickney (quantified)

Derived from English pickaninny. Compare Bajan pickney, Bislama pikinini, Pijin pikinini, and Tok Pisin pikinini.

A: O much pickney yuh gat? B: Mi av a yute an two daughter.

A: How many children do you have? B: I have a son and two daughters.

“An' he have a bone-hole; when he ate de meat, t'row it into de hole. An' Anansi tak him wife an' t'ree pickney an' he say de five gwine to de house an' get into de pot eat de meat. […]”

2020, Martha Warren Beckwith, compiler, Jamaica Anansi Stories (in Jamaican Creole), →ISBN:

He had a hole for his bones. When he ate his meat, he threw the bone into the hole. Anansi gathered his wife, and their three children and he told them that the five of them were going to enter the house to eat from that pot of meat […]


Nanny

Every Jamaican love Granny Nanny.

“The history of Jamaican national hero Nanny of the Maroons is also a narrative about the renegotiation of space — literal and figurative space. […]”

2006, Andrea Elizabeth Shaw, Andrea Shaw Nevins, The Embodiment of Disobedience: Fat Black Women's Unruly Political Bodies (in English), →ISBN, page 70:

Nanny of the Maroons
Nanny of the Maroons

(historical) Nanny of the Maroons — the Jamaican heroine.


scallion

scallion (plural scallion dem, quantified scallion)

scallion dem (plural)
scallion (quantified)

Scallion a $20, $30, but right now it a sell fi $120 because di rain naah fall.

Spring onions cost between J$20 and J$30, but they're being sold for J$120 at the moment because there hasn't been any rain.

bunching onion, green onion, leek, scallion, spring onion, Welsh onion


peas

Mek sure yuh soak di gungo peas good.

Why di peas dem (inna di rice and peas) cummn like sugar inna dem suh?

Why does it seem as if the beans (in this Jamaican rice and peas dish) have added sugar?


crep

→ English: crep


lov

Lov unu wan aneda laik breda an sista an unu fi aalwiez put unu breda an sista bifuo unuself.

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Ruoman 12:10:

Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.


patty

patty (plural patty dem, quantified patty)

Dis need 10 more dalla fi buy patty and juice.

If you want a Jamaican patty and something to drink, you'll need ten dollars extra.

a Jamaican patty; a pastry that contains various fillings and spices baked inside a flaky shell, often tinted golden yellow with an egg yolk mixture or turmeric. (Jamaican pastry)


higgler

higgler (plural higgler dem, quantified higgler)

higgler dem (plural)
higgler (quantified)

Nuff higgler sell inna di market pon Saturday.

Many vendors sell in the market on Saturday.

“From Friday to Sunday, yuh can run it fi yuhself an' carry di higgler dem to Coronation Market. […]”

2015, H. Earle Watson, The One Way Out (in English), →ISBN:

From Friday to Sunday, you can use it to transport the vendors to Coronation Market. […]


banton

banton (plural banton dem, quantified banton)

“It's not clear whether the Banton name came from a local term used to describe a storyteller or from Jamaican performer Burro Banton (perhaps both)”

1998, Howard J. Blumenthal, The World Music CD Listener's Guide (in English), →ISBN, page 23:


falara

falara (plural falara dem, quantified falara)

Derived from English follower. By surface analysis, fala + -er.

Wen Jiizas si di kroud a piipl dem, im go op pan di mountn go sidong, an im falara dem kom tu im.

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Matyu 5:1:

Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him


bammy

bammy (plural bammy dem, quantified bammy)

Bammy!? Everybady else ah eat fry dumplin fi dem brekfas' Sunday mawnin, an' mi have fi a nyam stick root.

Bammy!? Everybody else got fried dumplings for their Sunday morning breakfast and here I am eating the root of a plant.

“Me have coakinat , skellion , toomatis an' Ole Harbour bammy. Wat yuh want mam? Pum'kin? yuh wi haffe buy cho-cho wid i, dem married, same like 'ow cassava Is married to yampi . Is me wan gat bammy dis week [...]”

1949, Louise Bennett, Mek Wi Talk: Jamaican Dialect Poems, →ISBN, page 128:

I have coconuts, spring onions, tomatoes and bammies from Old Harbour. What would you like, ma'am? Pumpkin? You'll have to take the chayote as well. They're a couple. The same goes for cassava. It's married to the yam. I'm the only one who has bammy this week. …


bredda

bredda (plural bredda dem, quantified bredda)

Mi a look fi mi bredda.

“Oonoo call me bredda fi me! Beg yuh tell him come yah quick […]”

1989, Stewart Brown, Mervyn Morris, Gordon Rohlehr, Voiceprint: An Anthology of Oral and Related Poetry from the Caribbean (in Jamaican Creole), →ISBN:

Go get my brother! Please tell him to come here quickly […]

It start gather up a big crowd and it happen that it just a develop till mi go buy a likkle amplifier from a bredda downtown.

More and more people started coming and it became so popular that I decided to buy an amplifier from a guy in Kingston.

“Something wrong wid him. Da bredda dey need to [sic] good lick […]”

2006, Eric Jerome Dickey, Chasing Destiny (in Jamaican Creole), →ISBN:

There's something off about him. Someone ought to slap that guy around a few times. […]


gyal

desctree

→ English: gal; gyal
→ Icelandic: gella
→ Japanese: ギャル (gyaru)
→ English: gyaru

Nuh ramp wid har. A bad gyal dat.

Don't mess around with her. That girl's tough.

“"Gyal make haste wid di water nuh man! Why you one haffi have five bucket?" one woman shouted. She kicked aside a white bucket that was under the pipe and the water from the tank started to fall on the ground. "Do nuh take it out pan di water!" a woman standing nearby shouted hysterically. […]”

2007, Robert Lalah, “Portia's potable water - Hot topic in cool Manchester”, in The Jamaica Gleaner (in English):


saalt

jam-noun

saalt (plural saalt dem, quantified saalt)


red peas

red peas (plural red peas dem, quantified red peas)

red peas dem (plural)
red peas (quantified)

Compound of red (“red”) + peas (“bean, pea”).

Di red peas soup wah mi madda mek fi dinna sweet mi yo si.

I really enjoyed the kidney bean soup my mother made for dinner.


coco bread

coco bread (plural coco bread dem, quantified coco bread)

coco bread dem (plural)
coco bread (quantified)

/ˈkʷoːkʌ ˈbɹɛd/

Compound and shortening of coconut milk + bread.

Patty nuh nice widout coco bread.

I don't enjoy Jamaican patties without coco bread.

A Jamaican bread made with coconut milk.


sky juice

sky juice (plural sky juice dem, quantified sky juice)

sky juice dem (plural)
sky juice (quantified)

Mi cyaan drink bag juice inna di sun hot. Sell me a sky juice, Fudgie.

It's too hot out to drink bag juice. I'd like a sky juice, Fudgie.

A snow cone served in a clear plastic bag instead of a cone ; sky juice


Bustamante backbone

Bustamante backbone (plural Bustamante backbone dem, quantified Bustamante backbone)

Bustamante backbone dem (plural)
Bustamante backbone (quantified)

Refers to the resoluteness of Sir William Alexander Clarke Bustamante, Jamaica's first prime minister.

Yuh see whentime you read it inna
Star seh stranger come in a district
And lickle more a pickney disappear?
Is Fallen Angel carry dem way
Fallen Angel love sweetie,
bulla cake or Bustamante backbone
and especially paradise plum.

1996, Honor Ford Smith, My Mother's Last Dance, page 80:

“The Bustamante Backbone was so very good, she remembered. They were a delicious jaw-breaking delight. The children called them "Busta". She could almost taste them, still. Verona wondered whether that particular candy was still being ... […]”

2006, L. A. Augustin, Sound Awareness (in English), →ISBN, page 62:

Bustamante backbone
Bustamante backbone#English


Krais

Dis a di lis a Krais Jiizas faada faada dem go bak.

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Matyu 1:1:


guinep

guinep (plural guinep dem, quantified guinep)

University of the West Indies Press
w:University of the West Indies Press

The fruit of Melicoccus bijugatus — a tree of the Sapindaceae family, native to Central and South America.


faada

faada (plural faada dem, quantified faada)

Iebriyam did a Aizak faada, an Aizak did a Jiekob faada, Jiekob pikni dem a did Juuda an Juuda breda dem.

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Matyu 1:2:

Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,


Joe Grind

/ˈd͡ʒwoː ˈɡɹaɪn/

Literally, "Joe, the guy who makes love."

'Im come home and ketch 'im woman an' Joe Grind a duggu-duggu.

He came home and caught his wife and her lover in the act.

“'Yu better go home to yu yard because Joe Grind is there doing de good t'ings to yu woman dat you should be doing, but can't do them because yu are here,' Serius jokes. […]”

2011, Richard Bingy Brown, Living the Dream (in English), →ISBN, page 333:

(idiomatic) The man with whom another man's wife is having an affair; side guy; wife's male lover (male paramour)


gungo

Possibly from a coastal dialect of Kongo ngungu.


tambrin

tambrin (plural tambrin dem, quantified tambrin)

tambrin dem (plural)
tambrin (quantified)

“TAMBRAN, TAMBRIN sb dial; the common folk pronunc of tamarind (through normal loss of -d, effect of vowel harmony changing i>a, and articulative intrusion of b after m). Tamarind. […]”

2002, Frederic G. Cassidy, Robert Brock Le Page, Dictionary of Jamaican English (in English), →ISBN, page 437:


politrickster

politrickster (plural politrickster dem, quantified politrickster)

politrickster dem (plural)
politrickster (quantified)

Yuh cyaan trus di politrickster dem. A ongle election time yuh see dem.

You can't trust those crooked politicians. You only see them when there are elections.

“(Sake of yuh really cyaan trus' how long
yuh politrickster frien' dem
cyan hold down de pot lid […]”

1978, Joe R. Pereira, Profiles & Poemics (in Jamaican Creole), Valley Publications, page 38:

(Because you really can't trust how long
your crooked politician friends
will keep the lid on the situation […]


chargie

chargie (plural chargie dem, quantified chargie)

chargie dem (plural)
chargie (quantified)

→ English: chargie (MLE)

/ˈt͡ʃɑːd͡ʒɪ/

Possibly from English charged. Literally another person charged for the same crime, a partner in crime.

Yuh a mi chargie.

“Socio-linguistically speaking, it is normalised for Jamaican men to express manly affection by saying, "nuff/much love", "mi rate yuh", or "yuh a mi chargie" to each other. […]”

2020, Oneil Madden, The Jamaica Gleaner (in English):


brown man

brown man (plural brown man dem, quantified brown man)

brown man dem (plural)
brown man (quantified)

Shi seh a brown man shi want. Mi tell her seh di darka di berry, di sweeta di juice.

She told me she wanted a light-skinned guy. I told her the darker the berry, the sweeter the juice.

“There was one striking exception of a brown man breaking out of stereotype. He was either loading or unloading a washing machine or dryer with his right hand; and holding a baby quite precariously in his left hand. […]”

2018, Carolyn Cooper, “Black man + brown woman = perfect match?”, in The Jamaica Gleaner (in English):


jinarieshan

jinarieshan (plural jinarieshan dem, quantified jinarieshan)

jinarieshan dem (plural)
jinarieshan (quantified)

/d͡ʒɪnaˈɹɪ̯ɛʃan/

kaaz im si an memba mi im puo sorvant. Fram nou aan, evri jinarieshan a-go se mi a Gad-bles uman

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Luuk 1:48:

for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed


Jiizas

Derived from English Jesus, from Latin Iēsus, from Ancient Greek Ἰησοῦς (Iēsoûs), from Biblical Hebrew יֵשׁוּעַ (yēšū́aʿ).

Wen Jiizas don tel im twelv falara dem wa fi du, im lef de-so an staat tiich an priich iina dem toun

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Matyu 11:1:

When Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in their cities

(Christianity) Jesus (first-century Jewish religious preacher and craftsman held to be a prophet, teacher, the son of God, and the Messiah)


Revilieshan

Derived from English Revelation, from Derived from Middle English revelacioun, from Old French revelacion, from Latin revēlātiō (“disclosure”), from revēlō (“to disclose”), re (“again”) + vēlō (“to cover”).

(biblical) Revelation (final book of the New Testament of the Bible)


aatagrafi

aatagrafi (plural aatagrafi dem, quantified aatagrafi)

aatagrafi dem (plural)
aatagrafi (quantified)

Sens lietli, di Jumiekan LangwijYuunit op a Yunivoersiti a di Wes Indiz tek di Cassidy sistim fi divelopi, kandok pailat prajek ina skuul, ah inchajuusi tu di poblikaz di tandad aatagrafi.

2014 May 28, Larry Chang, Biesik Jumiekan: Introduction to Jamaican Language, Gnosophia Publishers, →ISBN, page 63:

Latterly, the Jamaican Language Unit at the University of the West Indies took the Cassidy system to develop it, conduct pilot projects in schools, and introduce it to the public as standard orthography.


suod

Dem stuon som a dem, an tek saa kot dem iina tuu an yuuz suod kil dem aaf tu[…]

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Iibruu 11:37:

They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword […]

Ef nobadi fi get lak op iina prizn, a dat a-go apm tu dem. Ef nobadi fi get kil wid di suod, dem a-go get kil wid di suod[…]

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Revilieshan 13:10:

If anyone is to be taken captive, to captivity he goes; if anyone is to be slain with the sword, with the sword must he be slain […]


fambili

fambili (plural fambili dem, quantified fambili)

fambili dem (plural)
fambili (quantified)

Di sumadi uufa iez Piita did chap aaf, did a fambili wid wan a di liida fi di priis dem sorvant dem. Ier im tu Piita, “No yu mi si wid im iina di gyaadn?”

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Jan 18:26:

One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, "Did I not see you in the garden with him?"


faambli

faambli (plural faambli dem, quantified faambli)

faambli dem (plural)
faambli (quantified)


futbaal

Derived from English football. By surface analysis, fut + baal.

association football
association football


tiicha

tiicha (plural tiicha dem, quantified tiicha)

Derived from English teacher. By surface analysis, tiich + -a.

Den som a di Laa tiicha an di Farisii dem se tu Jiizas se, ‘Tiicha wi waahn fi si yu shuo wi wan sain.’

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Matyu 12:38:

Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, "Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you."


Juu

Nou, a did nieli taim fi di Juu dem Paasuova alidie.

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Jan 6:4:

Now it was nearly time for the Jews' Passover holiday.


flowa

Nobadi naa go bai dem siniman, spais, insens, dier ail we dem kaal mor, ar dem swiit powda we dem kaal frangkinsens. Dem wain, aliv ail, speshal flowa an wiit, nobadi naa go bai dem. Dem kou, shiip, aas an bogi, an di piipl we dem tek ton sliev, nobadi naa go bai dem.

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Revilieshan 18:13:

cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and slaves, that is, human souls.

Im tel dem wan neda tuori we soun laik rigl: “Gad kindom komiin laik yiis we wan uman tek miks iina uol iip a flowa — se fifti poun — an miks it til it swel op.”

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Matyu 13:33:

He told them another parable. "The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened."


tiif

Aal di tiif dem we did niel pan di kraas wid im did kos im out tu.

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Matyu 27:44:

And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way.


mordara

mordara (plural mordara dem, quantified mordara)

mordara dem (plural)
mordara (quantified)

Wen di piipl si se di siniek eng an pan Paal an, dem se tu wan aneda se, “Da man ya a mos wan mordara! Iivn duo im get we fram di sii, di gad we niem Jostis se im no fi liv."

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Aks 28:4:

When the native people saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, "No doubt this man is a murderer. Though he has escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live."


daata

daata (plural daata dem, quantified daata)

Bot a Erad bortdie paati, Eruodiyas daata did daans fi Erad an im ges dem an dat did mek im api.

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Matyu 14:6:

But when Herod's birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company and pleased Herod,


kluoz

Evribadi av di rait tu a kwaliti a laif we gud inof fi di elt an welnes (welbiin) a imself an im fambili, dis miin se dem fi av fuud, kluoz, ous, an elt kier, an di sorvis dem we dem niid ina sosaiyati, an di rait fi get govament sopuot ef dem no av no wok, if dem sik, if dem disiebl (av speshal niidz ar andikyap), uman uufa ozban ded an man uufa waif ded, uol iej ar smadi we no av no saat a pie ar moni a kom iin ina wan sityuwieshan we dem no av no kanchruol ova

2023, Yuunivorshal Deklarieshan a Yuuman Raits, United Nations, Aatikl 25:

Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control

Den Jiizas tel dem se, “Nobadi no tier nyuu kluoz fi pach op uol kluoz, kaaz di pach fram di nyuu wan naa go mach di uol wan.

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Luuk 5:36:

He also told them a parable: "No one tears a piece from a new garment and puts it on an old garment. If he does, he will tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old.

Shi did a se tu arself se, "Ef a kuda onggl toch im kluoz, mi wi get beta."

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Matyu 9:21:

She said to herself, "If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed."

“So mi a tel unu, no bada fret bout unu laif, a wori op unuself bout wa unu a-go iit ar jringk, ar wa unu a-go wier. Kaaz laif no muo impuotant dan fuud, iihn? An di badi no niid muo dan kluoz?

2012, Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment, Edinburgh: DJB, published 2012, →ISBN, Matyu 6:25:

"Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?