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abaya

abaya

2 9.8
A long loose black robe worn by some Muslim women to cover the body in public
  • noun
  • /əˈbaɪə/
translation icon : abaya
  • Mona, 37, wears the hijab and also an abaya, the head-to-toe black cloak, whenever she ventures out of her home in the central Rusafa district to her job inside the Green Zone.
  • wear the abaya
  • black abaya
  • woman in an abaya

Examples

  • My sister was told point-blank to wear the abaya or else.

    Academic text (2007)
  • Most are already socialized to do so and thus, some Muslim women will say that they do not feel that anyone is forcing them to wear the headscarf; they will, in a private conversation, denounce the face veil, the burqa, the chador, and the Saudi abaya.

    Academic text (2010)
  • "She wants you to take her picture," a man said when the old woman in the black abaya came up to me.

    Blog text (23)
  • I hope you don't mind me saying, but that, um, abaya, it really makes your, your skin glow.

  • I'm wearing like this jumpsuit with like this abaya with like Lacey arms and that and no one else is ready.

  • On campus, women do not have to cover up and wear the baggy black gown, called an abaya, which is mandatory everywhere else in Saudi Arabia.

    Blog text (14)
  • America is a foreign nation to me when I come home; I hear the Arabic language, see abaya-clad women, and also hear the disgusting ghetto black jive talk when I do come home more than I hear English.

    Blog text (30)
  • The abaya (right) in Saudi Arabia is also not synonymous with a face-covering, although add-ons to the garment may cover the face. In Iran, women do go in public with their faces unveiled in chadors, which are similar to a cloak held closed with the hands.

    Academic text (2010)
  • On every flank of the protesters were groups of women in hijab and abaya: anyone who tried to start a confrontation—police, counter-protesters, or thugs—would find themselves facing off against mothers, children, and grannies.

    Blog text (17)
  • In some cultures, women choose to wear an abaya to maintain modesty in public.

Synonyms

djellabah
vsabaya
9.9

A long loose robe with a hood worn in North Africa

is a long loose robe that lacks a hood and covers the body publicly

How Covered

burqa
6 7.5
chador
4 9.3
abaya
2 9.8
robe
284 1.3
dress
1.0

Surface Forms

abaya singular
abayas plural

Etymology

The word abaya comes from the Arabic word abāyah, which means 'cloak' or 'loose garment', so an abaya is a long, loose robe worn over clothes in public.