Nilotic

[ nahy-lot-ik ]

adjective

1. of or relating to the Nile River or the inhabitants of the Nile region.
2. of or relating to the Nilotic group of languages.

noun

1. a group of languages belonging to the Eastern Sudanic branch of Nilo-Saharan, and including Dinka, Luo, Masai, and Nandi.

Nilotic

/ naɪˈlɒtɪk /

adjective

1. of or relating to the Nile
2. of, relating to, or belonging to a tall Negroid pastoral people inhabiting South Sudan, parts of Kenya and Uganda, and neighbouring countries
3. relating to or belonging to the group of languages spoken by the Nilotic peoples

noun

1. a group of languages of E Africa, including Luo, Dinka, and Masai, now generally regarded as belonging to the Chari-Nile branch of the Nilo-Saharan family

Word History and Origins

Origin of Nilotic¹

1645–55; < Latin Nīlōticus of the Nile < Greek Neilōtikós. See Nile, -otic

Word History and Origins

Origin of Nilotic¹

C17: via Latin from Greek Neilotikós, from Neilos the Nile

Example Sentences

The Luo, a Nilotic people from western Kenya, have among the most elaborate burial customs in Kenya.

From BBC

But this Nilotic tribe, apparently, had some media savvy.

From Salon

Painters decorated Roman villas with Nilotic scenes featuring crocodiles and hippos.

From Washington Post

The next morning, frantic Hutu militia groups, convinced that the Nilotic apocalypse was at hand, launched a ferocious attack against their Tutsi neighbours.

From The Guardian

In the Caucasian group, for example, are placed the Teutonic, Indostanic, Shemitic, and Nilotic families, each of which, it can be shown, has existed utterly distinct for 5000 years, not to mention many subdivisions.

From Project Gutenberg