In Sesotho, the word fokola (which means “weak”) enjoys limited use among some elderly Batswana – which is understandable because Batswana and Basotho have common ancestry. On a wintry night, an elderly Motswana man might complain that “molelo o o a fokola” meaning that the flames of an open, outdoor fire are not strong enough to generate adequate warmth for those huddled around it. Beyond the physical and in a figurative sense, fokola can be used to describe mental, moral or emotional qualities.From fokola comes bofokodi (state of weakness) and mofokodi (one beset with some form of weakness).
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