nabel
n. 1. [Atlantic; cf. US Black nabuh idem ESEA; /b, v/ alternation, now confined to a few words, was probably characteristic of an earlier stage ...
nabel-string
[ Atlantic ; cf. OED navel-string idem →1846, now arch.] n. umbilical cord: 1966 (Otterbein 61). When ...
nail: drive the nail into the butt
[cf. OED drive to overwork (a person); to force (a nail) by blows] phr. to work (a person) hard: If they give you job as ...
naked dance
[cf. DAS a lewd dance or obscene performance (New Orleans); from its formerly being performed in the nude] n. an African-style RING-DANCE in which performers ...
naked-skin
[Car.; cf. OED naked destitute of clothing (implying poverty and wretchedness)] adj. naked (as from poverty). (Nassau, Inagua) ...
naked-wood
[DAE different sp. 1837→; from its seeming to lack bark] n. a tree: 1782 Naked-wood (most beautifully veined and marbled) (Bruce 45). 1905 Naked wood. ...
nalsada
[etym] n. a small fish (sp?): If you ain't got codliver oil, they got something call nalsada they catch out to sea and fry the fat ...
name
[Atlantic; by passivization] v. to be named: 1918 You must tell me what I name (Parsons 115). 1954 I name Nansi (Crowley 222). Long Cay ...
Names (place names)
The names of many Bahamian islands and settlements go back hundreds of years and serve as reminders of earlier periods of the islands' history. The ...
nam-sack
(Cat); num-sack (Andros) [cf. nam-sack in Gul]. (Writers' Program 1940:15), DJE "blend of nam (cf. nambu field-bag. .. cf. Twi ε-nãm meat) and knapsack"; cf. ...
nana
[also US Black (Stanley 1941:8) and Brit. child's word (Pye p.c.); from banana by aphesis] n. banana (child's word). (Black) ...
Nago Nanga, N'onga, Nungo, Nago
[Pan-Creole; cf. DJE Nanga, Nago a Yoruba negro, from Ewe anagó idem; also "term of contempt originally applied by Creole blacks to African-born slaves; now ...
Nango Town
[cf. NANGO Yoruba, referring to settlers; the tribal name may have become generalized to include all liberated Africans] n. an area originally settled by NANGOS ...
nary
[US Black idem ESEA; OED, US and dial. (var. of ne'er a) neither; no; not (a)] negator. Not (one): 1936 I ain' had nary a ...
Nassau boy or girl, man
etc. n. Nassauvian; inhabitant of Nassau: 1936 Wen Nassau man reach [to apply for a job], I-lun Mun man bin dere an' gone (Dupuch 15). (Gen.) ...
Nassau roach
n. the small, one-inch cockroach, Blattella germanica, as opposed to the large DRUMMER ROACH. = AMERICAN ROACH, CHINESE ROACH, HITIAN ROACH (Black)
...
Nassauvian
/nasóhviyan/ (Gen.); /nasúwviyan/ (Eleu.) [from Nassau, by analogy with e.g. Peru, Peruvian] n. a native of Nassau: 1888 Nassauvian (Powles 195).
◊Nassauvian is considered acrolectal ...
nastiness
[W Car.; OED, moral foulness or impurity; grossness, obscenity] n. sexual perversion: They say the boys-dem do nastiness in that old shack-house (Nassau). (Black) ...
nasty days
[OED nasty unclean, especially to a disgusting degree] n. period of menstruation. cf. FILTHY DAYS (Eleu.) ...
nation
[Gul. idem (Writers' Program 1940:23); OED idem obs.→1762] n. a great number (especially of persons or animals): You got your own nation [many children] (Exuma). ...
native
[OED, one born in a place; one of the original or usual inhabitants of a country, as dis-tinguished from strangers or foreigners; now esp. one ...
native bag
[from its local manufacture] n. a large shopping bag with handles, made of broad strips of STRAW¹ loosely woven together. (Nassau, Exuma) ...
native cherry
[from its resemblance to the north-ern cherry] n. the Barbados cherry, MaIpigliia glabra: 1946 (Morton 19). 1978 Native cherry jam (Higgs 148). = CHERRY, JAMAICA ...
native grits
[from local production] n. yellow, coarsely hand-ground grits as opposed to the white, finely ground commercial variety. = ISLAND GRITS, RED GRITS, YELLOW GRITS (Black) ...
natural
adj. 1. [W Car.; cf. Brit. dial. West natural entirely EDD ] entire; complete in itself: 1966 One natural head, it wasn't no person [of ...
natural pear
[cf. FALSE PEAR the northern pear] n. the avocado. = PEAR (Eleu., Andros) ...
nature
[OED, vital or physical powers; semen; menses obs. →1607] n. 1. [also Trin. (Winer p.c.), US Black DARE] sexual drive. cf. LOSS HE NATURE, NATURE ...
nature pills
[cf. NATURE] n. sex stimulants: 1963 (Cottman 115). ...
needle
[US slang idem DAS; OED the sharply pointed end of a hypodermic or other syringe] n. an injection of medicine: Doctor say, "Well, I have ...
negro
[ED, of or belonging to, connected with, characteristic of etc. a negro or negroes] n. attributive, Obs. of the style used by black people: 1784 ...
negro fish
[from its dark color?] n. Obs. a fish: 1731 Perca marina puncticulata . the Negro fish (Catesby 7). cf. NIGGER FISH ...
neither
[Car.; OED idem q 513] conj. nor; or (followed by noun phrases as well as clauses); I don't like the entertainers, neither their type of ...
nelly
[ evidently from PANELLY or CANELLY via aphesis] n. a swelling from a bump on the head. (Andros) ...
nervous
[cf. W3 nerves nervous disorganization or collapse, influenced by nervous) n. a case of bad nerves: 1936 He got d' nervous so bad till he ...
nettle
[OED, a plant noted for the stinging property of the leaf-hairs; cf. also nettle-fish a stinging jellyfish] n. a jellyfish, Medusa sp.: 1788 Among the ...
never
[Atlantic, SA idem; cf. Indo-Portuguese "nunca (lit. never) , para denotar o preterito negativo" (Delgado 1900:42); cf. also Asian Port. Creole nokke save (from Port. ...
never-done food
n. food said to be not ready as long as unwelcome visitors in hopes of an invitation to eat are reluctant to leave before the ...
New Guinea
[cf. the Guinea Coast of West Africa, the principal source of slaves] n., Obs. name of a settlement of free blacks east of Nassau (modern ...
New Providence
[see quot.] n. the island on which the Bahamian capital of Nassau is located: 1880 As far as is known, the first discoverer of the ...
news
[by extension] n. gossip: Don't never take news from no one on your wife, because news cause me on this gallows (Crooked). cf. TAKE NEWS, ...
next
/neks/ adj. 1. [Car; influenced by African usage: cf. Yoruba ékejì next, the other, the second of a pair DYL] other: 1940 A slice o' ...
next day eveing
phr. on the evening of the next day: 1918 (Parsons 19). ...
Nicholls Town
View a map
[see quot.] n. a town in North Andros: 1945 The remnant of the black and coloured people who had served with Colonel ...
nicker
(Eleu.); nickle (Mayag.) [cf. Scots nickle knuckle; to aim with a marble; nickler, nicker marble with which a boy aims CSD; cf. also Brit. dial. ...
nicker (bean)
[DJE idem; OED, (seeds) identified with nicker, a marble] n. 1, a plant, Caesalpinia bonduc: 1889 (Gardner 375). = RED NICKER, YELLOW NICKER (Gen.)
2. ...
nicker vine
[cf. NICKER (BEAN) I] n. a trailing plant (sp?) with reddish-yellow beans and hooked prickles. (Nassau, White) ...
nicky
cf. SEA TINNICKY idem] n. a small beach crab (sp?). (Nassau) ...
nigger-fish
[OED, W3 different sp.; DJE no sp.; probably from dark color] n. 1. a fish, Bodianus fulvus (punctatus): 1905 (Shattuck 306). (Inagua, White)
2. the ...
nigger(s') man
[cf. US Black nigger lover a white person who associates with or who relates to black people on a human level—a white term originally offensive ...
niggerly
[cf. NIGGER 4 + -ly forming adj. from n. as in manly; cf. niggerly niggardly in Brit. dial. OED and US dial. South WEA] adj. ...
night bat
[W Car.; cf. BAT moth] n. a large moth (sp?) which is active at night: I scare of night-bat 'cause they could tangle up in ...
night gaulin
[W Car.; cf. GAULIN heron] n. the black-crowned night heron, Nycticorax nyeticorax: 1972 (Paterson 30). = CRAB CATCHER 1, GAULIN (Gen.)
...
night rest
[MCC idem; cf. Ibo ouchichi ozuike (lit, night rest) idem (Okolo p.c.)1 n. sleep: 1966 Let me take my night-rest till morning (Crowley 75). (Gen.) ...
night-walker
[OED, an animal that moves about by night] n. 1. a bird, the golden-crowned thrush (Seiurus aurocapillus): 1880 (Cory 70). = GROUND-WALKER
2. a bird, ...
niglum vitae, ninglum vitae
/ní(ng)glam váytiy/; nignal whitey, nickly white (Eleu.); nigla whitey (Exuma); niglum whitey (Inagua, San Sal.); nigger whitey (Inagua, Mayag.); niggly whitey [cf. DJE nigum bitey ...
ninky
ninky [cf. NINNY 1] n. genitals (of females only) (child's word). (Andros, San Sal.) ...
ninny
n. 1. [cf. Belize nene pudenda (Young); cf. Common Bantu *-néná- pubic region (Carter p.c.)] vagina. (Inagua, Eleu.)
2. [cf. ninny nipple US Black, breast ...
nipper
[cf. gallinipper large mosquito in DJE, Gul. (Parsons 1923:99); cf. also OED nip bite] n. the sandfly, a small biting insect of the genus Phlebotomus: ...
no, na, nor
/na/ 1. [Car.; cf. na not in Brit. dial. North, Scots EDI)] simple negator before verb doesn't, don't, didn't, etc. (considered archaic or rustic; also ...
no-good
[W3 idem, worthless] adj. useless; of low character: 1977 These men too no-good (Full 74). He dead no-good [i.e. totally worthless] (Exuma). (Black)
◊The Bah. ...
no how
[also dial. in Brit. OED, US ADD] adv. in any way: 1966 I don't think that's a good name nohow (Crowley 58). (Gen.) ...
no-manners
[Gul. idem ADD; from have no manners] adj. impertinent; impolite: a no-manners child (Nassau). He ain' no-manners [i.e. he is polite] (Nassau). (Black) ...
No man seen dat
phr. You've never seen anything like it. (Long, Mayag.) ...
no more
/no mów/ [Atlantic; "abbreviation of no-more-than, in the older form no-mo (OED→1813 obs.)" DJE] adj. only (this and no other); just: No-more boys can play ...
nor'ard
/nóhrad/ (Black); north'ard /nóhdhad/ (White) [cf. OED northward towards the north; cf. Scots norit, northart idem CSD, US dial. North, nautical norard, north 'ard ADD] ...
nor'side
[probably from north side but cf. meaning of north in NORTH SHORE and Scots nar-side from nar near CSD, from the per-spective of sailors approaching ...
northern apple
[from its place of origin] n. the North American apple, as opposed to the sugarapple, pineapple, etc.: 1940 Nodden apple an' grape an' tings like ...
north shore
[cf. NOR'SIDE] n. the windward shore (not necessarily on the north side of an island): 1976 The reefs in the Bahamas lie Mostly on the ...
nose-hole
Atlantic; also Brit. dial. North, Mid EDD, possibly converging with. African parallels, e.g. Igbo óyélé-ímí (lit. nose-hole) idem (Han-cock 1971:663)] n. nostril. (Black> ...
nosey
[cf. OEDS 1 nosey adj, inquisitive slang] v. to pry: She always noseyin' aroun' (Andros). (Black)
...
no-taste
[by analogy with NO-GOOD, NO-MANNERS, etc.] adj. insipid: 1974 [A story-teller] who shows no theatrical proclivity is fast accused of [telling a] "no-taste old story" ...
nothing
/nótin/ [Gul. idem ADD; OED, not at all (qualifying verb); arch. in US] adv, at all (after a negative): 1918 The man ain't dead nothing ...
nothing: ain nothin' to it
(US Black idem, a curt, resisting reply often given to "What's happening?" or "How are you?" (Claerbaut 57); US colloq. idem, it's not difficult] phr, ...
nuff, 'nough
/nof/ [Atlantic; aphetic form of OED enough quite, abundantly, now only in certain colloq. phrases, as sure enough] adv. abundantly, very: 1936 Dat po' ole ...
number man
[cf. OEDS II numbers an illegal form of gambling in which bets are taken on the occurrence of numbers in a lottery or in the ...
number eleven
DJE idem: "First introduced into this island in June 1782, being among a number of valuable plants taken in a French vessel, bound from the ...
number thirteen
[not in DJE, but cf. NUMBER ELEVEN for probable etym.) n. a variety of mango: 1889 The Mangoes of the Bahamas are of comparatively poor ...
nuss, nuss-head
[cf. OED nurse a dogfish or shark; also nurse hound] n, a shark (sp?): 1731 Fish frequenting the Bahama Seas .. . Nuss (Catesby xliii). ...
nyam, yam
[Pan-Creole; cf. Mauritian Fr. nyamnyam (Baker p.c.); Puerto Rican Sp. ñam-ñam, Pap. jomi-jomi all idem (Dillard 1976.164, 288); "njam is a very wide-spread African root—also ...
no how
[also dial. in Brit. OED, US ADD] adv. in any way: 1966Idon't think that's a good name nohow (Crowley 58). (Gen.)
...
nanny
/náni/, narny /náhni/ [cf. DJE nany, nene "from Twi nene to discharge the bowels", cf. also Common Bantu *-ni- to defecate (Carter p.c.) and Car. ...
navy-blue black
[cf. St. Lucia blue-blacks (vs. mulattoes) (Dalphinis 1977:13); LA Fr. bleu excessivement noir (Germain); US Black blue a very black Negro (Van Patten 1931:27)] adj. ...
nicker vine
[cf. NICKER (BEAN) 1] n, a trailing plant (sp?) with reddish-yellow beans and hooked prickles. (Nassau, White)
...
night rest
[MCC idem; cf. Ibo ouchichi ozuike (lit, night rest) idem (Okolo p.c.)] n. sleep: 1966 Let me take my night-rest till morning (Crowley 75). (Gen.) ...
narrow shad
not in W3, but cf. W3 broad shad] n. a small fish (sp?) which lives in brackish ponds. (Andros, Adelaide) ...
Nassau
[named after Nassau, a former duchy now part of Hesse, Germany; its Dutch line of rulers took the title of Prince of Orange and included ...
negro grounds
[DJE idem; cf. GROUND cultivated field] n. Obs. the area of a plantation where slaves raised crops on their own time for their own use: ...