impi

American

[im-pee] / ˈɪm pi /

noun

plural

impies, impis

(in South African history) a unit of Zulu warriors; regiment.

impi British

/ ˈɪmpɪ /

noun

a group of Bantu warriors

"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

Etymology

Origin of impi

1875–80; < Zulu: impi, armed force, battle

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.

The impi covered the distance at a dead run.

From Time Magazine Archive

Within a year, his modest impi of 350 warriors had swollen to 2,000.

From Time Magazine Archive

I summoned Sibijaan, Klaas, and all the others of our impi to attend services there, and then proceeded to deliver a loud harangue to them.

From Adventures in Swaziland The Story of a South African Boer by O'Neil, Owen Rowe

The impi again gave the royal salute and a second later had departed, swallowed up by the night.

From Adventures in Swaziland The Story of a South African Boer by O'Neil, Owen Rowe

He gave orders to our impi, and for a moment I thought he was going to try and command me.

From Adventures in Swaziland The Story of a South African Boer by O'Neil, Owen Rowe

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023