Swahili
li noun, plural Swa·hi·lis (especially collectively) Swa·hi·li for 1.
1.
a member of a Bantu people of Zanzibar and the neighboring coast of Africa.
Related forms
Swa·hi·li·an, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To swahili
Collins
World English Dictionary
Swahili (swɑːˈhiːlɪ) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n , -lis, -li | |
| 1. | Also called: Kiswahili a language of E Africa that is an official language of Kenya and Tanzania and is widely used as a lingua franca throughout E and central Africa. It is a member of the Bantu group of the Niger-Congo family, originally spoken in Zanzibar, and has a large number of loan words taken from Arabic and other languages |
| 2. | Mswahili, Also called: Waswahili a member of a people speaking this language, living chiefly in Zanzibar |
| —adj | |
| 3. | of or relating to the Swahilis or their language |
| [C19: from Arabic sawāhil coasts] | |
| Swa'hilian | |
| —adj | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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00:10
Swahili
is always a great word to know.
So is ort. Does it mean:
| a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal. |
| a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare. |
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
Swahili
name of a Bantu people inhabiting the coast of South Africa, 1814, from Arabic sawahil, plural of sahil "coast" + gentilic suffix -i.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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