mzee

/ əmˈzeɪ /

noun

1. an old person

adjective

1. advanced in years

Word History and Origins

Origin of mzee¹

C19: from Swahili

Example Sentences

Ali Hassan Mwinyi, Tanzania's second president, was fondly known as Mzee Rukhsa - "Mr Permission".

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She was speaking during the launch of his memoir, aptly called Mzee Rukhsa - the Journey of My Life.

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Other groups echoed this partnership model: Vashon Center for the Arts recently collaborated with other regional venues to bring the children’s play “Owen and Mzee” to their respective venues, reducing costs for all organizations.

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Mzee Samuel Kazungu, chair of a group of men from 15 Giriama subtribes in Kenya who convene to address land disputes, told the outlet AllAfrica in 2021 that children “start demanding inheritance ... and since a father is not ready to release his property, his family will gang up against him and he will be branded a witch, killed and the land will be sold.”

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Mzee Jaramogi served in the government of Jomo Kenyatta, the father of the current president, until they fell out, resulting in the vice-president becoming an opposition politician and being imprisoned in 1969 for 18 months.

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