Definitions
Wiktionary
- n. A trumpet-shaped horn, now usually plastic, that produces a loud buzzing sound.
Etymologies
- From Zulu vuvuzela ("to make a vuvu noise"). Directly translated vuvu-ing. Because of the /vuː/ sound that comes from the plastic horn. (Wiktionary)
Examples
“Can anyone confirm that vuvuzela is Swahili for "justifiable homicide"?”
“The vuvuzela is a symbol of everything that is wrong with the “Sub-Saharan Africoon”:”
Global Voices in English » South Africa: To vuvuzela or not to vuvuzela?
“To Chris of World Cup blog, the vuvuzela is “that giant swarm of insects …”:”
Global Voices in English » South Africa: To vuvuzela or not to vuvuzela?
“Chris of World Cup blog agrees that the vuvuzela is “quintessentially South African” but …”
Global Voices in English » South Africa: To vuvuzela or not to vuvuzela?
““The ancestor of the vuvuzela is said to be the kudu horn - ixilongo in isiXhosa, mhalamhala in Tshivenda - blown to summon African villagers to meetings.””
Global Voices in English » South Africa: To vuvuzela or not to vuvuzela?
“Wow, I never heard the name vuvuzela before this article.”
“The debate around the vuvuzela was always going to generate big noise but for some South African commentators it has become almost a neo-colonial conflict.”
Global Voices in English » South Africa: To vuvuzela or not to vuvuzela?
“Supporters made the horns out of discarded tin cans, and the use spread wildly, to the joy of many and the irritation of some: South African writer Jon Qwelane wrote in 2007 that “Nowadays, there is an instrument from hell, called the vuvuzela, which has largely formed my decision to abandon all live games and rather watch on TV, with the sound totally muted.””
Global Voices in English » South Africa: To vuvuzela or not to vuvuzela?
“Pitch Invasion calls the vuvuzela “Satan's instrument.””
Global Voices in English » South Africa: To vuvuzela or not to vuvuzela?
“Discussions about the popular instrument called the vuvuzela blown by South African football fans have dominated the blogosphere since the beginning of Confederations Cup 2009 in South Africa, which ended last week.”
Global Voices in English » South Africa: To vuvuzela or not to vuvuzela?
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘vuvuzela’.
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Another 250 Spelling Words
Another range of words from the intermediate to the advanced speller's level.
cherimoya, parthenogenesis, sommelier, bupkis, kichel, voulge, indivisibility, retiarius, sewellel, vihuela, ossature, jalfrezi and 238 more...
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Not edible
Things that sound edible but are not (usually). See Liberty's To Eat, or Not to Eat? for more diet food.
cinnabar, dulcimer, belfries, potto, maltha, grapple, loam, rake, tort, pomade, buffalo chip, wedgie and 172 more...
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Reduples
Go for it, brothers and sisters! I personally have been suffering long for lack of an open reduplicatives list
happy clappy, bribble-brabble, diddle-daddle, hugger-mugger, kikiriki, Bora-Bora, mahi-mahi, jingle-jangle, knick-knack paddy..., chit-chat, bon-bon, clapperclaw and 292 more...
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Realia from Everywhere
Culturally defined terms and expressions from the four corners of the world
fjord, mistral steppe, tornado, tsunami, polder, kiwi, koala, sequoia, Abominable Snowman, paprika, spaghetti, empanada and 299 more...
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Zulu
words derived from Zulu found
in dictionaries
There is a Scottish boat called
a zulu built by William Campbellbabalas, babbelas, bonsella, bonsela, pasela, cocopan, donga, imbizo, impala, imphee, impi, indaba and 55 more...
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Desultory Digressions
Also known as EsotericWench's Word Holding Tank. These are words that have caught my fancy but I have yet to file in the appropriate list. If I don't capture them here, I won't capture them at all.
desultory, abjure, immethodical, mentalist, subvertising, schmaltzy, fartlek, interstitial, ear-rent, brouhaha, crufty, malefactor and 34 more...
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unruzuzu
azzurus, zyuzyutu, yuzu, Zhu Zhu, Isuzu, Azzurra Air, Uzhavoor, rizzar, Sununu, Mordechai Vanunu, ruzzle-dozzle, Urzulei and 70 more...
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Sound or sequence
dulcimer, borborygmi, ecchymosis, scrivener, fustilugs, zarf, bawdyhouse, googleable, archfiend, gymkhana, cuckoopint, pilpul and 104 more...
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discoveries
These are lexical items new to me that I've discovered in actual use (i.e. not in dictionaries, lists, or this site).
Looking back over this list, I haven't the slightest idea what mos...haymow, hawsepipe, stridor, bariatric, autotelic, apotropaic, cyanotype, tourelle, autobody, zudecca, stifado, corbeille and 1073 more...
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Listless
Nowhere else to put these yet.
sibilant, cloying, pithy, apologia, odyssey, amanuensis, pleasantries, ginormous, burnish, sojourn, quonset, over-under and 217 more...
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kewpid's Words
moleskine, araldite, dessicate, cellar door, grotesque, fallacy, vendetta, raindrop, panacea, ethereal, hircus, treppenwitz and 446 more...
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Not Quite As Awful As They Sound
masticate, absquatulate, adumbrate, afflatus, fetial, anile, bilabial, cineaste, smew, copse, piebald, testudinate and 156 more...
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Words of the Times
Words discovered while reading The New York Times, each with a citation from the paper.
testilying, ghost talk, apneist, solastalgia, izakaya, hooker, telectroscope, airflyte, phomance, bromhidrosis, stinky feet, cupping and 482 more...
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Insulting Thee So Foreignly
Non-English words that sound like they might be derogatory. It doesnae matter whether they are or aren't in terms of their actual meaning. We just have to like saying them when we're feeling snarka...
aasvogel, vuvuzela, à la poupée, stoemp, livspusslet, Schnitzelbank, koksmuts, bydło, vuxenmys
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Bafana Republic
Football World Cup 2010 in South Africa.
South Africa, football, gatsby, vuvuzela, Green Point, flag, Moses Mabhida, bokke, ayoba, roogie, bakkie, Nelspruit and 32 more...
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Jules Rimet A-Gleaming
Thinking of a better title. This list is about football/soccer. I don't want it to be simply a list of favourite players, clubs, etc. It's more about documenting key moments and concepts in the gam...
blattini, jules rimet, association football, offside, marking, striker, world cup, fifa, equaliser, booking, save, penalty box and 68 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for vuvuzela.

hernesheir Did anyone else notice the vuvuzelas among the uniformed spectators during the recent annual (2010) Army-Navy college football game? Dec 18, 2010
oroboros An EXCELLENT use of the vuvuzela! Oh, yeah! Sep 24, 2010
bilby There's also the kuduzela. Jun 17, 2010
hernesheir lepatata - Tswana/Setswana term for a type of stadium horn, a.k.a. vuvuzela.
Jun 17, 2010
hernesheir New bumper sticker idea: Save The Lepapatatas. Jun 17, 2010
khotmail Funny preview of teams playing in 2010 south africa world cup
http://nplusonemag.com/world-cup-preview Jun 17, 2010
bilby It's said that turning down the 300 megahertz channel on your equaliser or digital box helps. Jun 15, 2010
kewpid They make watching the World Cup a pain in the you know where. Jun 15, 2010
reesetee Ha! *holds hands over ears* May 24, 2010
bilby Arguably, reesetee, they do sound awful :-( May 24, 2010
john “But it is the vuvuzela, a cheap plastic horn, that may be the lasting South African symbol of the 2010 games, said Mr. Alegi, a scholar of soccer at Michigan State University.”
The New York Times, South Africa Pushes to Make World Cup Its Own, by Celia W. Dugger, May 23, 2010 May 24, 2010
mukhtarm1 Trumpet like instrument, made from cheap plastic, originating in South Africa, blown (with some difficulty) at football or soccer matches, making a loud 'voooooo'sound. Very annoying pitch, esp when heard on TV, very popular in South Africa, no patent as yet but may be pending.. Jun 23, 2009