rai
(rī)n. A form of popular Algerian music combining traditional Arabic vocal styles with various elements of popular Western music and featuring outspoken, often controversial lyrics.
[Algerian French
raï, perhaps from dialectal Arabic
(ha er-)ray,
(here is the) view (frequently heard in the songs), from Arabic
ra'y,
view, from
ra'ā,
to observe; see
rʔy in
Semitic roots.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
rai
(raɪ) n (Pop Music) a type of Algerian popular music based on traditional Algerian music influenced by modern Western pop
[C20: Arabic, literally: opinion]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
rai
(raɪ)
n. a style of Algerian popular music played on electric guitar, synthesizer, and percussion instruments.
[1985–90; of uncertain orig.]
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