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Definition of "lobola" [lobola]

  • A set amount paid by a prospective husband to the bride's family among certain peoples in southern Africa. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "lobola" in a sentence
  • "Today, even Christian Basotho who want to be married in the church usually uphold many traditional customs, especially the payment of a bride-price, known in Sesotho as bohali, but sometimes also called lobola, from the name used by another Southern African people, the Zulu."
  • "Many South African marriages have as their foundation bride-price, or lobola, which is coming under fire from parliamentarians and jurists for discriminating against the rights of women."
  • "As lobola, which is often paid in livestock, does not form the basis for a civil marriage, family law is not applicable in these marriages, but now a new law aims to improve the position of black women."