Somali
Americannoun
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Somalis,
plural
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Somali
plural
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a member of a people speaking a Cushitic language and living primarily in Somalia, Somaliland, and adjacent regions.
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the Cushitic language of the Somali ethnic group.
adjective
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of or relating to Somalia, its people, or their language.
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of or relating to the Somali ethnic group or their language.
noun
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a member of a tall dark-skinned people inhabiting Somalia
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the language of this people, belonging to the Cushitic subfamily of the Afro-Asiatic family of languages
adjective
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of Somali
First recorded in 1800–10 as Samaulies (plural); from Somali Soomaali, a self-designation
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.
See Examples For:
The small restaurant serves Somali food, and I get the same thing every time I visit: goat mendi, with fall-apart bone-in goat served over deeply seasoned rice studded with crispy bits of potato and raisins.
From Salon ● Sep. 8, 2026
Al-Shabaab also exploits artisanal gold mines along the northern Cal Madow Mountains, according to Abdullahi, the former Somali commander.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
Gen. Ahmed Abdullahi Sheikh, a former commander of Somali special forces.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
But, at the news conference before the World Cup, his reply of "just, you know, chill, relax" about Somali referee Omar Artan, who had been denied entry to the USA at Miami Airport, sparked concern.
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
The Somali Bantu presented an extraordinary challenge for resettlement officials.
From "Outcasts United: An American Town, a Refugee Team, and One Woman's Quest to Make a Difference" by Warren St. John
DHS faces a new lawsuit over the apparent fast-track policy for Somalis, brought by Minnesota-based law firm Hines Immigration Law and Minneapolis-based group Advocates for Human Rights.
From Slate ● Mar. 27, 2026
Starting March 17, around 2,500 Somalis will lose their work authorisations and legal status, making them eligible for deportation.
From BBC ● Jan. 13, 2026
Somalis know the 36-year-old as Garyaqaan - a word that can be translated as "judge".
From BBC ● Dec. 13, 2025
Some crafted faux-biblical verses like “Whoever harms Somalis will bring harm onto himself—Genesis 67:67” and “If you bless the Somali people, God will bless you—Genesis 12:8.”
From Salon ● Dec. 8, 2025
To lump people as different as Zulus, Somalis, and Ibos under the single heading of “blacks” ignores the differences between them.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
