Wiktionary
n. A neighborhood or residential area in Balkan countries.
Wikipedia
Mahala is a name used in many languages and countries referring to Neighbourhood or Locality.
Mahala is a Balkan word for " neighbourhood" or " quarter", a section of a rural or urban settlement, dating to the times of the Ottoman Empire. It was brought to the area through Ottoman Turkish mahalle, but it originates in Arabic mähallä, from the root meaning "to settle", "to occupy". It is rendered as follows in the languages of the region: , mahala; Bosnian and or ма'ала/ma'ala; ; ; , machalas; , maalo or маала, maala; ; . A mahala was a relatively independent quarter of a larger village or a town, with its own school, religious building or buildings, mayor's representative, etc. Mahalas are often named after the first settler or, when ethnically separate, according to the dominant ethnicity.
In Bulgaria, mahalas were administratively considered a separate type of settlement on some occasions; today, settlements are only divided into towns or villages, and the official division of towns is into quarters. In rural mountainous areas, villages were often scattered and consisted of relatively separate mahalas with badly developed infrastructure.
In Romanian, the word mahala has come to have the strictly negative or pejorative connotations of a slum or ghetto that are not present or at least not as strongly implied in other languages.
In the Bengali language, mahalla (pronounced mo-hol-la) also means an urban neighbourhood. In Iran, mahalla is widely used in the same ways as mentioned above for urban neighborhoods. In South Africa, mahala is a slang term meaning "free of charge".
Mahala is a village in the municipality of Breza, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Mahala (Kalesija) is a village in the municipality of Kalesija, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Usage examples of "mahala".
Iris bewildered the frank heart of Bethel by her silence, Mahala baffled her by easy and indecipherable chatter.
And suddenly appearing, facing these two women and not liking them in the least, was Miss Mahala Vale.
Bethel had been developing a quite healthy small hatred for Mahala, but now she enlisted under her, hoped that she would take Andy away from the Hinterwald girl and marry him immediately--though she saw that this would mean that she herself would never have a chance at the young Sun God.
And he kissed Mahala again--but this time as though he took a personal interest in it--and picked up his bags to carry them to the House.
Andrew Deacon, who last summer pleased all hands by his robust characterization of Ethan Frome, is now winning as an English poet in hard luck, and the new leading lady, Miss Mahala Vale, is exquisite in the role of an Edna Millay in a dog-wagon.
House, with Roscoe and Andy and Mahala and Tudor Blackwall, but at the tapestry-brick mansion of the rich Jeddabys, in Grampion Centre.
They sat yawning or laughing on the beach, Mahala in a bathing suit so tight, so white, with such handsome long white legs, that she would have seemed embarrassingly naked, had she not too much resembled an unbreathing marble statue.
Grampion and have only a sandwich for dinner, if Mahala was to be in her dressing-room on time.
Whatever foam from Roscoe had to be wiped away, she was working with professional actors: Andy, Mahala, Clara Ribbons, Doc Keezer, Tudor Blackwall, Maggie Sample.
Iris with a small, set, misty smile ignoring the fact that Pete Chew was gaping wistfully at her from the circle of Toni, Tudor Blackwall, Mahala and Cy Fickerty, who were squatting on the stage and shooting craps, while Harry Mihick looked on them in sorrow at such desecration.
Roscoe with Bethel, Mahala with the scornful Cynthia, Harry Mihick and Bruce Pasture, Iris Pentire and Maggie Sample.
He came back to Mahala, perched on a slightly wet rock, but Mahala did not welcome him.
I had anybody as much interested in me as Andy and Mahala are in each other, or Pete and Toni, or Iris and the Seventh Regiment.
Sadly Bethel had seen Andy bid her good night--he so pleading, Mahala so patronizing.
Iris Pentire losing her Mona Lisa calm and Mahala her Ritz dignity and Tudor Blackwall his sleek superiority as, like herself, they dashed for bus and taxi, to reach Andy Deacon, Bethel left her steak sandwich unfinished and galloped to her hotel and to her telephone.