Swahili
a member of a Bantu people of Zanzibar and the neighboring coast of Africa.
Also Ki·swa·hi·li or ki-Swa·hi·li [kee-swah-hee-lee] /ˌki swɑˈhi li/ . the Bantu language of the Swahili people, used also as a lingua franca in Tanzania, Kenya, and parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Origin of Swahili
1Other words from Swahili
- Swa·hi·li·an, adjective
Words Nearby Swahili
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use Swahili in a sentence
The Telegraph reports that he is fluent in Swahili and a keen zoologist.
How A British Aristocrat Used Big Game Hunter’s Sperm To Get Pregnant Without His Permission | Tom Sykes | December 2, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTNeither Arabic or Swahili writings make note of Gedi, despite it being located 65 miles from the port city of Mombasa.
Kenya Has Its Own Machu Picchu—the Lost Town of Gedi | Nina Strochlic | September 18, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIf one dared to speak Swahili in his company, a swift reprimand would often be forthcoming.
Campi ya Kanzi means “Camp of the Hidden Treasure” in Swahili.
Interestingly, as Azad means “freedom” in Arabic, Urdu, Farsi, Turkish, and other languages, "Uhuru" means "freedom" in Swahili.
My gun-bearer (a Swahili) now began to show an anxiety to turn back.
Hunting in Many Lands | VariousThe dismounted gun and the ammunition-boxes were on the heads of Swahili porters.
Cupid in Africa | P. C. WrenThus, though it is absent as a plural prefix for nouns in the Swahili of Zanzibar, it reappears in the concord.
"Safari" is itself a Swahili word of Arabic origin, meaning an expedition and all that pertains to it.
My African Journey | Winston ChurchillMy Spanish is only a little bit better than my Swahili, so I missed what was going on, except for an occasional word.
The Day of the Boomer Dukes | Frederik Pohl
British Dictionary definitions for Swahili
/ (swɑːˈhiːlɪ) /
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
Also called: Mswahili, Waswahili plural -lis or -li a member of a people speaking this language, living chiefly in Zanzibar
of or relating to the Swahilis or their language
Origin of Swahili
1Derived forms of Swahili
- Swahilian, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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