Rwanda

[roo-ahn-duh]

noun

a republic in central Africa, E of the Democratic Republic of the Congo: formerly comprising the N part of the Belgian trust territory of Ruanda-Urundi; became independent 1962. 10,169 sq. mi. (26,338 sq. km). Capital: Kigali.

Related formsRwan·dan, adjective, noun

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

Examples from the Web for rwanda

Contemporary Examples of rwanda

In Rwanda, as we watched the young fathers hold their babies, we saw a contented look in their eyes.
How Good Dads Can Change the World
Gary Barker, PhD, Michael Kaufman
January 6, 2015
There were stories of distant strife, in Bosnia, Rwanda, and Northern Ireland, and those stories had the whiff of a different era.
The Best Columns of 2014
John Avlon, Errol Louis
December 31, 2014
These formations streamed from Rwanda with the same hopeless shuffle as they did from Bosnia and now as they do from Syria.
The Man Who Invented the Word ‘Genocide’
Nina Strochlic
November 19, 2014
This was in the wake of the genocidal Hutu-Tutsi war in neighboring Rwanda.
Catholic Nuns Aiding Africa's Battered Wives Are Raped and Murdered
Barbie Latza Nadeau
September 10, 2014
Rwanda and Ethiopia, symbols in the past of death and mayhem, are now among the fastest-growing economies in the world.
How I Got Addicted to Africa (and Wrote a Thriller About It)
Todd Moss
September 9, 2014

British Dictionary definitions for rwanda

Rwanda

noun

a republic in central Africa: part of German East Africa from 1899 until 1917, when Belgium took over the administration; became a republic in 1961 after a Hutu revolt against the Tutsi (1959); fighting between the ethnic groups broke out repeatedly after independence, culminating in the genocide of Tutsis by Hutus in 1994. Official languages: Kinyarwanda, English, French, and Swahili. Religion: Roman Catholic, African Protestant, Muslim, and animist. Currency: Rwanda franc. Capital: Kigali. Pop: 12 012 589 (2013 est). Area: 26 338 sq km (10 169 sq miles)Former name (until 1962): Ruanda

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

Word Origin and History for rwanda

Rwanda

African nation, named for indigenous people there, whose word for themselves is of unknown origin.

rwanda in Culture

Rwanda

[(roo-ahn-duh)]

Republic in central Africa bordered by Uganda to the north, Democratic Republic of Congo to the west, Burundi on the south, and Tanzania on the east. Its capital is Kigali.

Note

Rwanda gained its independence from Belgium in 1962.

Note

It has long been marked by ethnic strife between majority Hutus and dominant Tutsis. When its president died in a suspicious plane cash in 1994, Hutu militia massacred at least 500,000 Tutsis in an act of genocide.