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Damu

Damu is a Swahili word meaning 'blood', and in American slang — particularly in gang culture on the West Coast — it's used as a term of reference or address among members of the Bloods street gang and their affiliates.

ˈdeɪmə142 viewsLast reviewed Jun 29, 2026+ Add a definition
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#1·Apr 28, 2026

Damu is a Swahili word meaning 'blood', and in American slang — particularly in gang culture on the West Coast — it's used as a term of reference or address among members of the Bloods street gang and their affiliates. Outside of that specific context, it's sometimes used more broadly as a term of kinship or brotherhood, similar to calling someone family. The word has also been adopted in certain hip-hop and urban communities as a general term.

He greeted his old friend as damu, the two of them having grown up in the same neighborhood.
Origin: Directly from Swahili 'damu', meaning blood. Adopted into American gang slang — particularly within Bloods-affiliated communities — as a coded term of identity and solidarity. Editorial expansion authored on Slangora (model-assisted, hedged).
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#2·Apr 27, 2026

(slang) Blood.

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Regional slang from around the English-speaking world — British, Australian, Irish, Caribbean, Nigerian, Filipino, AAVE, and the hyphenated-English dialects that make the internet sound local.

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