mali

name

1. A country in West Africa. Official name: Republic of Mali.

noun

1. (Multicultural-London-English, slang)A Somali.
2. (India, South-Asia)A member of a caste in South Asia whose traditional occupation is gardening; hence, any South Asian gardener.

   “[H]ence the slow progress hitherto made in the cultivation of such produce of the garden as is generally held in estimation by the European portion of the community, left as it generally is, to the simple Hindoo mallee (or gardener,) it is not to be wondered at, that our bazars want what are deemed the more delicate articles of vegetable production for the table; […]”

   “Prizes were awarded to ten other mallees for best samples of vegetables, fruits and flowers, and last though not least we have to note, that a prize of two rupees was awarded to the mallee of Robert Fulton, Esq., of Sultangunge, for a remarkably fine bunch of grapes, clearly showing that either the soil of Mr. Fulton's garden, the climate of Sultangunge, or the skill of that gentleman's gardener, are highly favorable to the growth, and bringing to maturity of this delicious fruit.”

   “I sent down dhobies, sweepers, cooks, and mallees, last to dig trenches for burying the dead, when burning was not possible.”

   “He found, as he expected, that the poor girl was crying. And, as always, an Indian close outside the window, a mali in this case, picking up sounds.”

   “A nearly naked mali, watering-can in hand, was moving in the jungle of flowers like some large nectar-sucking bird.”

3. (South-Africa, uncountable)Money, cash.
4. (form-of, plural)plural of malus

   “The existence of boni and mali for the different risks can be interpreted through the sign of estimated covariances.”

   “If the boni and mali do not depend on the frequency of claims, the average bonus-malus coefficient increases with the frequency.”

   “Akramkhanov et al. (2010) also suggested a system of boni and mali on taxes to support the implementation of measures to achieve both water saving and salinity control (Table 3.3.1).”