Kikuyu

[ ki-koo-yoo ]

noun,plural Ki·ku·yus, (especially collectively) Ki·ku·yu.
  1. a member of an Indigenous people of Kenya having an agricultural economy and notable as being the originators of the Mau Mau.

  2. the language of the Kikuyu, a Bantu language.

  1. (usually lowercase)Also called kikuyu grass . a grass, Pennisetum clandestinum, native to southern Africa, sometimes used in warm climates for lawns or as pasturage.

Words Nearby Kikuyu

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use Kikuyu in a sentence

  • So far they had not struck the mountain slopes, and the Kikuyu led them deeper into the great African forest.

    The Rogue Elephant | Elliott Whitney
  • But, strange as it may seem, the hyaena is worshipped by one very large tribe in East Africa, the Kikuyu.

    Sketches of the East Africa Campaign | Robert Valentine Dolbey
  • It is hardly to be wondered at that the hyaenas in the "Kikuyu" country are far bolder than in other parts.

    Sketches of the East Africa Campaign | Robert Valentine Dolbey

British Dictionary definitions for Kikuyu

Kikuyu

/ (kɪˈkuːjuː) /


noun
  1. plural -yus or -yu a member of a Negroid people of E Africa, living chiefly in Kenya on the high foothills around Mount Kenya

  2. the language of this people, belonging to the Bantu group of the Niger-Congo family

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