Kiswahili

See also: kiswahili

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Bantu *kɪ̀-

Proto-Sabaki *ki-

Swahili ki-

Arabic سَوَاحِل (sawāḥil)

Swahili Kiswahilibor.

English Kiswahili

Borrowed from Swahili Kiswahili, from ki- + Arabic سَوَاحِل (sawāḥil).

Proper noun

Kiswahili

1. Swahili, an agglutinative Bantu language widely spoken in East Africa.
   • 2010, Parliament of Kenya, “Chapter 2, Article 7(1)”, in Constitution of Kenya, 2010, page 14:

     The national language of the Republic is Kiswahili.

Synonyms

• Swahili

Translations

Swahili — see Swahili

Further reading

• Ethnologue entry for Kiswahili, swh ⁠

Swahili

Etymology

From ki- +‎ Arabic سَوَاحِل (sawāḥil, “coastal dwellers”), plural of سَاحِل (sāḥil, “boundary, coast”).

Pronunciation

• (Unguja standard) IPA^(key): /ki.sʷɑˈhi.li/

• Audio (Kenya):

  (file)

Noun

Kiswahili class VII (no plural)

1. Swahili language

Related terms

• Mswahili