dashiki

noun

da·​shi·​ki də-ˈshē-kē How to pronounce dashiki (audio)
dä-,
da-
variants or less commonly daishiki
: a usually brightly colored loose-fitting pullover garment

Illustration of dashiki

Illustration of dashiki

Examples of dashiki in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The barbers all wore dashikis or T-shirts that celebrated the motherland. D. Watkins, The Atlantic, 10 Apr. 2025 The trappings of Pan-African culture — the dashikis and kufis that once felt ubiquitous at home — were objects of skepticism. Ismail Muhammad, New York Times, 27 Dec. 2024 Many of the young girls wear long dresses with their heads covered and the boys wear colorful dashikis. Tony Paige, New York Daily News, 2 June 2024 Moor, donning a yellow dashiki with a long gold rope chain, strolls around the classroom discussing how Black consciousness has evolved since the end of slavery. C. Isaiah Smalls Ii, Miami Herald, 1 Mar. 2024 Queen Latifah wore African outfits befitting her regal name, like headdresses, Africa medallions, and dashikis. Mankaprr Conteh, Rolling Stone, 4 Oct. 2023 Earlier this year, Pearson wore a dashiki for his swearing-in ceremony. Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff, Washington Post, 28 Apr. 2023 Classrooms feature maps of Africa and brown paper figures wearing dashikis, a garment worn mostly in West Africa. Cheyanne Mumphrey, The Christian Science Monitor, 26 Apr. 2023 Known since college for almost always wearing a suit, Pearson wore a traditional West African dashiki on the House floor on his first day in office. Vivian Jones, USA TODAY, 5 Apr. 2023

Word History

Etymology

modification of Yoruba dàńṣíkí

First Known Use

circa 1968, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of dashiki was circa 1968

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Dashiki.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dashiki. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.

Kids Definition

dashiki

noun
da·​shi·​ki də-ˈshē-kē How to pronounce dashiki (audio)
: a usually brightly colored one-piece pullover garment
Etymology

derived from danshiki, an Indigenous word for this garment in a language of western Africa

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