Plural of bouba; possibly relating to a type of garment or fabric, or variants of boubou.
Related to or variant of 'boubou,' which comes from Yoruba 'búbú.' The term entered European languages through colonial contact with West Africa in the 18th-19th centuries.
Bouba is also the name of that gooey, blobby shape in the famous 'bouba-kiki' experiment—when asked which shape is 'bouba' vs 'kiki,' most humans pick the round one! Language and perception are mysteriously connected.
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