Dinka
Americannoun
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Dinkas,
plural
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Dinka
plural
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a member of a tall, pastoral people of Sudan.
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the language of the Dinka, a Nilotic language closely related to Shilluk.
noun
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a member of a Nilotic people of South Sudan, noted for their height, which often reaches seven feet tall: chiefly herdsmen
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the language of this people, belonging to the Nilotic group of the Nilo-Saharan family
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of Dinka
from Dinka jieng people
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The conflict in has largely pitted the two largest ethnic groups against each other -- the Dinka aligned mostly with Kiir, and the Nuer mostly with Machar.
From Barron's ● Feb. 25, 2026
The country, over the last years, has seen the limits of the peace deal forged between South Sudan’s president, Salva Kiir, a Dinka, and his Nuer deputy, Riek Machar.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 4, 2023
The battle for control mainly raged between the supporters of President Salva Kiir, an ethnic Dinka, and supporters of the First Vice-President Riek Machar, a Nuer.
From BBC ● Feb. 2, 2023
Dinka finished with 97 yards on 22 carries.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 12, 2022
Almost from birth, a child is taught the values of the Dinka, which my great-uncle had in abundance.
From "Lost Boy, Lost Girl" by John Bul Dau
The town of Malakal, for example, changed hands roughly a dozen times during the course of the civil war and is now controlled by Dinkas.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 14, 2016
But they did — first the Dinkas and then, much more slowly, the Nuer.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 6, 2015
The U.N. hasn’t spelled out clearly who exactly the victims were, but it is likely that ethnic Dinkas were among the dead.
From Time ● Apr. 23, 2014
The recent unrest has pitted gangs from the Nuer ethnic group of Mr Machar against Dinkas - the majority group to which Mr Kiir belongs.
From BBC ● Dec. 20, 2013
Of the gods too good and great to need anything, the Ahone of the Red Men in Virginia, or the Dendid of the African Dinkas, is an example.
From Myth, Ritual And Religion, Vol. 2 (of 2) by Andrew Lang
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
