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

Each impi would halt in front of him and give the royal salute, thus acknowledging him as their ruler.

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

The safe thing for him to do was to order his impi to seize the Boers and then turn them over to the English.

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