What does bona mean?
Bona is an adjective meaning good, fine, or excellent, best known as a word of Polari — the colourful cant spoken by circus folk, actors, sailors, and later British gay subcultures from roughly the nineteenth century to the 1960s. Within Polari, 'bona' was among the most frequently used terms of approval, appearing in stock phrases praising everything from a person's looks to their command of the slang itself. The word descends from the same Latin root as 'bonus', via Italian or Romance sources, which makes its meaning transparently related to familiar words for goodness. Though Polari faded after the liberalising decades of the late twentieth century, 'bona' survives as a cultural marker: readers meet it in histories of queer Britain, in Julian and Sandy's famous sketches on BBC radio's Round the Horne, and in playful contemporary revivals. Using it today signals nostalgia, wit, or deliberate camp rather than ordinary speech.
adjectiveIn Polari, the historic British slang of performers and marginalised subcultures, 'bona' means good, fine, or excellent.
- Good, fine, or excellent — used chiefly within Polari, the British cant associated with theatrical and LGBTQ+ communities.
"'Vada the bona lingo on that one!' she said, admiring his polished turn of phrase."
"He gave a bona performance that had the whole audience cheering."
"'That's a bona idea,' he said, adopting the old showfolk patter."
Before it was slang for 'good', this little word was hiding inside 'bonus' all along — both descend from the very same Latin root.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of bona
Bona derives from the Latin adjective bonus, meaning 'good', most likely entering Polari through Italian or another Romance language. It belongs to the same family as English 'bonus', 'bonhomie', and 'bonanza', all traceable to that Latin root. The word became embedded in Polari, the hybrid cant of entertainers and minority communities in Britain, where it served as a core term of approval throughout the cant's heyday before fading with the subculture that sustained it.
How bona is actually used
'Bona' is now largely historical or deliberately retro, encountered in writing about Polari, mid-twentieth-century British culture, or used playfully for camp effect. It functions as an adjective and is not part of mainstream everyday vocabulary.
Easily confused with bona
'Bona fide' is a standard Latinate phrase meaning genuine or sincere, whereas 'bona' on its own is Polari slang simply meaning good.