Swahili

[ swah-hee-lee ]

noun

, plural Swa·hi·lis, (especially collectively) Swa·hi·li

1. a member of a Bantu people of Zanzibar and the neighboring coast of Africa.
2. Also Ki·swa·hi·li or ki-Swa·hi·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.

Swahili

/ swɑːˈhiːlɪ /

noun

1. Also calledKiswahili 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. Also calledMswahiliWaswahili -lis-li a member of a people speaking this language, living chiefly in Zanzibar

adjective

1. of or relating to the Swahilis or their language

Derived Forms

• Swaˈhilian, adjective

Other Words From

• Swa·hi·li·an adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of Swahili¹

First recorded in 1810–15; from Swahili, from Arabic sawāḥiliy “of or pertaining to the coast,” equivalent to sawāḥil, plural of sāḥil “coast” + -iy adjective and noun suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of Swahili¹

C19: from Arabic sawāhil coasts

Example Sentences

His first language is Swahili, but English became his literary language.

From Washington Post

When Agatha Lenjou was planning on starting her business of selling Swahili sweets last year, she knew that she wanted to run it on social commerce platforms.

From Quartz

Mama Kubwa is Swahili for “big woman,” a name that translated wherever I hiked—from trails around my suburban New Jersey home to the treacherous wet-chain descent to Mooney Falls in Havasu Canyon.

From Outside Online

Our team later nicknamed this person “Mtoto,” meaning “child” in Kenya’s Swahili language.

From Singularity Hub 

No sooner did he open Swahili Village in the basement space that previously housed Honeysuckle and Vidalia — March 15, 2020 — than Onyona was relegated to serving the food of his native Kenya as takeout.

From Washington Post

The Telegraph reports that he is fluent in Swahili and a keen zoologist.

From The Daily Beast

Neither Arabic or Swahili writings make note of Gedi, despite it being located 65 miles from the port city of Mombasa.

From The Daily Beast

If one dared to speak Swahili in his company, a swift reprimand would often be forthcoming.

From The Daily Beast

Campi ya Kanzi means “Camp of the Hidden Treasure” in Swahili.

From The Daily Beast

Interestingly, as Azad means “freedom” in Arabic, Urdu, Farsi, Turkish, and other languages, "Uhuru" means "freedom" in Swahili.

From The Daily Beast

My gun-bearer (a Swahili) now began to show an anxiety to turn back.

From Project Gutenberg

The dismounted gun and the ammunition-boxes were on the heads of Swahili porters.

From Project Gutenberg

Thus, though it is absent as a plural prefix for nouns in the Swahili of Zanzibar, it reappears in the concord.

From Project Gutenberg

"Safari" is itself a Swahili word of Arabic origin, meaning an expedition and all that pertains to it.

From Project Gutenberg

My Spanish is only a little bit better than my Swahili, so I missed what was going on, except for an occasional word.

From Project Gutenberg