pula means rain, used as an expression of greeting or good luck.
pula is pronounced /pʊlə/.
Why “pula” is a great word
Pula is the foundational currency of Botswana, a word meaning 'rain' borrowed from Tswana, Northern Sotho, and Sotho, tracing to the Proto-Bantu root *mbúdà; first issued as currency in 1976. Unlike thebe, which denotes a mere subdivision, or a generic greeting, which lacks elemental weight, pula binds value to the very weather that sustains life. It is the coin that carries the memory of thunderheads over the Kalahari, the handshake that wishes water upon a dry season, and the banknote that acknowledges prosperity flows only where the rains have fallen—a testament that all wealth, in the end, is borrowed from the sky.
Etymology
Borrowed from Tswana pula, Northern Sotho pula, and Sotho pula (“rain”), all from Proto-Bantu *mbúdà.
noun
- Rain, used as an expression of greeting or good luck.e.g.“Given under my hand and the Public Seal at Gaborone this 31st day of March, 2020. / PULA!”
- The currency of Botswana, divided into 100 thebe.
name
- The largest city in Istria County, Croatia.
- A surname.