morogo, noun

/məˈrɔ(ː)ɡɔ/, /məˈrɔ(ː)xɔ/, /mɔˈrɔ(ː)ɡɔ/, /mɔˈrɔ(ː)xɔ/
Forms:
marog, marogoShow more Also marog, marogo, merogo, moeroga, morog, morongo, muroch.
Origin:
Sotho, SetswanaShow more Sotho and Setswana, ‘amaranthus’, ‘wild spinach’, ‘vegetables’.
Note:
In both senses also called imifino and wild spinach (see wild sense a).
a. Any of several species of edible leafy plants, traditionally cooked and eaten as a vegetable by African peoples.
1940 V. Pohl Bushveld Adventures 73The leaves and tender tops of a certain plant, which they use to make a delicious bread — they call it muroch — now mature and so become unfit for consumption.
1946 P. Abrahams Mine Boy (1954) 27It is called Moeroga...They grow among nettles. I studied the leaves of wild spinach.
a1968 D.C. Themba in E. Patel World of Can Themba (1985) 98Macala’s eyes glittered as he saw the Ma-Ndebele women squatting in their timeless patience behind their huge dishes of maize-cobs, dried morogo.
1979 Voice Vol.3 No.22, 11There is not even naturally growing ‘morogo’ to fall back on. We just have to eat mealie-meal and water.
1988 N. Mathiane in Frontline May 23The women can no longer plant ‘morogo’ (spinach) which is their staple diet.
1989 M. Roberts Herbs for Healing 12Anaemia, Amaranthus (‘morog’) Include fresh or cooked, in the diet.
1992 C. Kuppelwieser in Living Mar. 33The Carolina mission had a large garden in which wild spinach, called Morogo, used to grow.
b. A traditional dish made from these plants.
1970 E. Schearkogel Informant, Hennenman, Free StateMarog. A stew of vegetables cooked like spinach.
1982 Fox & Norwood Young Food from Veld 38The leaves of several cultivated plants are used as ‘imifino’ or ‘morogo’. The most common of these are: Cajanus cajan..; Cucumis africanus..; Cucurbitae pepo..; Ipomea batatas..; Lablab purpureus subsp. uncinatus..; Manihot esculenta..; Vigna unguiculata...Quinn quoted a Pedi saying, ‘meat is a visitor but morogo is a daily food’.
1986 P. Pieterse Day of Giants 12He sat on one foot stirring marog, a stew of pig-weed shoots bubbling in the small iron pot.
1988 E. Mphahlele Renewal Time 170I could not eat some of the things I loved very much: mealie-meal porridge with sour milk or morogo, stamped mealies mixed with butter beans, sour porridge for breakfast and other things.
1994 K. Botha in Sunday Times 25 Dec. 15I can eat pap and marog with squatters and drink a toast to our new President. I am a citizen of the new South Africa.
Any of several species of edible leafy plants, traditionally cooked and eaten as a vegetable by African peoples.
A traditional dish made from these plants.
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Sesotho and Sesotho sa Leboa
Setswana
Morimo, nounn.morsdood, adjectiveadj.
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