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nouba

wild party, bash

noun NOO-bah Rare
People & Society Community

Origin: French military slang from Arabic nūba (turn of duty, then regimental band)

Usage Note

Nouba is informal and lively, used in expressions like faire la nouba (to party hard). It entered French through North African military regiments whose bands performed in rotation. Today it has no military connotation and simply means a boisterous celebration. Une sacrée nouba suggests a particularly raucous party.

Examples

"On a fait la nouba jusqu'à l'aube."

Natural Translation

We partied until dawn.

Literal Translation

We have done the bash until the dawn.

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