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Definition of Kabyle in English:

Kabyle

Pronunciation /kəˈbī(ə)l/ /kəˈbaɪ(ə)l/

nounKabyle, Kabyles

  • 1A member of a Berber people inhabiting northern Algeria.

    • ‘These frères d'olive would create another society with the local Kabyles and Berbers, departements of France as North Africa was once a great and fertile province of Rome.’
    • ‘Berbers who inhabited the Atlas Mountains southeast of Algiers, Kabyles were the fiercest opponents of the French occupation, submitting to it only in 1857.’
    • ‘The pressure to Arabize was resisted by Berber population groups, such as the Kabyles, the Chaouia, the Tuareg, and the Mzabt.’
    • ‘Alongside their enumeration of the apparent benefits for French mercantilism, authors incorporated the theme of commerce into discussions regarding the fundamental differences between Kabyles and Arabs.’
    • ‘The Kabyles are the most resistant to government incursion.’

  • 2The Berber dialect of the Kabyle.

    • ‘The Chaouia dialect, which is distinguishable from but related to Kabyle, bears the mark and influence of Arabic.’
    • ‘The principal language used by this people is Kabyle, used both at home and professionally.’
    • ‘Kabyle is a Berber language spoken by the Kabyle people.’

adjective

  • Relating to the Kabyle or their language.

    • ‘We employed this technique when a Kabyle vessel arrived at the Museum with a white bloom across parts of the surface.’
    • ‘The Chaouias are traditionally the most isolated of all the Berber groups; the only outsiders their villages received were occasional Kabyle traders.’
    • ‘The fota, a piece of cloth usually red, yellow and black, was worn at the hips by Kabyle women.’
    • ‘The surviving leaders of the Kabyle rebels were either executed or sent to New Caledonia along with 4,000 Parisian Communards, including the remarkable Louise Michel.’
    • ‘A speciality of the Kabyle Berbers of Algeria is ahethut, made from barley, bran, and ground acorn meal.’

Origin

Probably from Arabic qabā'il, plural of qabīla ‘tribe’.

Pronunciation

Kabyle

/kəˈbī(ə)l/ /kəˈbaɪ(ə)l/