Wolof

Dictionary: Wo·lof (wō'lŏf') pronunciation

A member of a West African people primarily inhabiting coastal Senegal.
The West Atlantic language of this people, widely used as a lingua franca in Senegal.

[Wolof wilif.]

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Muslim people of Senegal, The Gambia, and Mauretania. They speak a language of the Atlantic branch of the Niger-Congo family. In the 14th – 16th century the Wolof maintained a powerful empire. Traditional Wolof society was highly stratified, consisting of royalty, an aristocracy, a warrior class, commoners, slaves, and members of despised artisan castes. Today most Wolof (numbering some 5 million) are farmers, but many live and work in Dakar, Senegal, and Banjul, The Gambia. Wolof women are renowned for their elaborate hair styles, abundant gold ornaments, and voluminous dresses. Nearly half the people of Senegal are Wolof.

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Columbia Encyclopedia: Wolof

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Wolof (wōl'əf), black African ethnic group numbering over 3 million, along the Atlantic coast of W Africa; most live in Senegal, but there is a significant minority in Gambia. Traditional Wolof society was distinguished for its rigid social classes. There were nobles and farmers among the free born; below them were lower classes of artisans and minstrels; slaves were the lowest class. Chiefs were elected by the nobles. By the 14th cent. the Wolof had established a separate state. They were converted to Islam in the 18th cent.

WordNet: Wolof

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Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: the West AFrican language of the Wolof people in Senegal

Wikipedia: Wolof

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Look up Wolof in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wolof may refer to:

Wolof Empire, a medieval West African state
Wolof language, a language spoken in Senegal, Gambia, and Mauritania
Wolof people, an ethnic group found in Senegal, Gambia, and Mauritania

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Copyrights:

		Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more
		Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more
		Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/. Read more
		WordNet. WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. Read more
		Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Wolof". Read more