Hausa

or Haus·sa

[hou-sah, -suh, -zuh]

noun, plural Hau·sas, (especially collectively) Hau·sa for 1.

a member of an indigenous people of northern Nigeria and southern Niger whose culture has been strongly influenced by Islam.

the language of the Hausa people, belonging to the Chadic branch of the Afroasiatic family, widely used in Africa as a language of commerce.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for hausa

Contemporary Examples of hausa

Chika, a well-to-do young Igbo woman, has been pulled to safety in a deserted shop by a Hausa Muslim woman.
The Hypocrite Killer
Jane Ciabattari
June 17, 2009

Historical Examples of hausa

The scouts were called in; and the Hausa company set off, in fours, along the path.
Through Three Campaigns
G. A. Henty
Waziri nodded, and supplied the Hausa phrase for this skill.
Blind Man's Lantern
Allen Kim Lang
Beriberi (or Berberi) is the name given them by the Hausa (see Bornu).
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 15, Slice 6
Various
He talks Arabic, and Hausa, and krooboy palaver as well as I do.
The Message
Louis Tracy
Your Hausa man—Hudson his name is—urged us to push on this far.
The Message
Louis Tracy

British Dictionary definitions for hausa

Hausa

noun

plural -sas or -sa a member of a Negroid people of W Africa, living chiefly in N Nigeria

the language of this people: the chief member of the Chadic subfamily of the Afro-Asiatic family of languages. It is widely used as a trading language throughout W Africa and the S Sahara

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