pajubá means A Brazilian cryptolect spoken by adherents of African-Brazilian religions and by the Brazilian LGBT community.
Why “pajubá” is a great word
A Brazilian cryptolect, originally derived from West African languages, used historically as a secret language by adherents of Afro-Brazilian religions and later adopted and expanded by the Brazilian LGBT community. Borrowed from Portuguese pajubá, which is likely derived from a Yoruba or Yoruba-Nago term meaning 'secret' or 'mystery'. Unlike 'Polari' (the historic British cant of theatre and gay subcultures) or the general Portuguese 'gíria' (meaning simply 'slang'), Pajubá is a lexicon forged at a specific crossroads of faith, persecution, and identity. It is the murmured invocation in a Candomblé terreiro, the coded compliment traded in a dimly-lit bar, the sharp riposte on a sun-baked street—a language born of necessity, a testament that to speak freely, some must first learn to speak in code.
Etymology
Borrowed from Portuguese pajubá.
noun
- A Brazilian cryptolect spoken by adherents of African-Brazilian religions and by the Brazilian LGBT community.