Bara, noun

/ˈbærə//ˈbara/
Origin:
Abbreviation of Baragwanath.
colloquial
A nickname for Baragwanath Hospital, Soweto. Also attributive.
1974 K.M.C. Motsisi in Drum 22 Dec. 44He tells me that Kid Bles is admitted to the Repair House (Bara Hospital) after he gets himself knifed at a gumba-gumba session way out in Naledi.
a1977 K.M.C. Motsisi in M. Mutloatse Casey & Co. (1978) 132Next time the quack and nurses call around this ‘Bara’ bed of mine they will find me singing — Show me the way to go home with a smile as wide as a two-up of maiza.
1988 S. De Fay in Frontline Jan. 10This was a night at Baragwanath, Africa’s largest hospital. I went to Bara to find out why white doctors work there.
1990 New African 18 June 4We saw how many babies were coming in, and how many died...‘One can’t say it is symptomatic of the lack of doctors..because it is happening at other black hospitals like Bara (Baragwanath),’ said one doctor.
1991 N. Mbatha in Pace Feb. 39Taxi owners operating between Merafe, Bara and Johannesburg received a letter..ordering them to stop transporting commuters.
A nickname for Baragwanath Hospital, Soweto. Also attributive.
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bantustan, nounn.barbel, nounn.
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