mshoza, noun
/(ə)mˈʃɔ(ː)za/, /əmˈʃəʊzə/
- Forms:
- Also with initial capital.
- Plurals:
- mshozas, bomshoza.
- Origin:
- Isicamtho, EnglishShow more Isicamtho, ultimate origin unknown; perhaps from English shows (see quotation 1982) with the connotation of ‘well-dressed’, ‘showy’, ‘good-looking’.
slang
In township parlance: a woman or girl of the ‘pantsula’ social group (see pantsula sense 1 a); also occasionally used predicatively as an adjective. Also attributive.
[1982 D. Bikitsha in Rand Daily Mail 14 Oct. (Eve) 5A woman [in a South African township of the 1940s and 1950s] went by such titles: moll, cherrie.., shows,..and others.]
1986 H. Prendini in Style Nov. 191The pantsula’s female counterpart is the mshoza...A certain style of pleated skirt..is such typical mshoza gear that Arthur Mzozoyana breaks into a huge laugh as he describes it: ‘...It’s just so mshoza!’
a woman or girl of the ‘pantsula’ social group (see pantsula sense 1 a); also occasionally used predicatively as an adjective. Also attributive.
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