mbila

Older Use, ��·��·��

[uhm-bee-luh]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

a xylophone of southern African origin having graduated wooden keys, traditionally attached to hollow gourd resonators, and played with rubber-headed mallets, often in a group.
mbira.

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Origin of mbila¹

First recorded in 1925–30; from Venda (Bantu language of the Transvaal and Zimbabwe); mbira ( def. )

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