bwana

American  

[bwah-nuh] / ˈbwɑ nə /

noun

1. (in Africa) master; boss.

---

bwana British  

/ ˈbwɑːnə /

noun

1. (in E Africa) a master, often used as a respectful form of address corresponding to sir

---

Etymology

Origin of bwana

1875–80; < Swahili < Arabic abūnā our father

Example Sentences

"Floribert Bwana Chui was an intelligent and eloquent child from birth. He was a polite boy who respected us, his parents. I saw a bright future in him. I was expecting him to be a boy who would get married, have a wife and children," his mother Gertrude Kamara Ntawiha told UN-sponsored Radio Okapi last month before travelling to Rome for her son's beatification - which was also attended by Kositi's two younger brothers.

From BBC

Now nicknamed "Bwana Shea" or Mr Shea, he walks from village to village in the north-west of the country rallying people to protect what he sees as a vanishing treasure.

From BBC

He saw them all: “House of Wax,” “Bwana Devil,” “The Maze.”

From New York Times

The Sounders won 2-1, former midfielder Handwalla Bwana and striker Raul Ruidiaz providing the scores.

From Seattle Times

One guide who survives, Benjamin Kikwete, and his older mentor, Muema Kambona, sound at times like Hollywood versions of themselves, using tired terms like “bwana” and saying improbable things about the landscape such as, “This could never grow tiresome.”

From Los Angeles Times