Swahili

[swah-hee-lee]

noun, plural Swa·hi·lis, (especially collectively) Swa·hi·li for 1.

a member of a Bantu people of Zanzibar and the neighboring coast of Africa.
Also Kiswahili, ki-Swahili. the Bantu language of the Swahili people, used also as a lingua franca in Tanzania, Kenya, and parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Related formsSwa·hi·li·an, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for swahili

Contemporary Examples of swahili

The Telegraph reports that he is fluent in Swahili and a keen zoologist.
How A British Aristocrat Used Big Game Hunter’s Sperm To Get Pregnant Without His Permission
Tom Sykes
December 2, 2014
Neither Arabic or Swahili writings make note of Gedi, despite it being located 65 miles from the port city of Mombasa.
Kenya Has Its Own Machu Picchu—the Lost Town of Gedi
Nina Strochlic
September 18, 2014
Campi ya Kanzi means “Camp of the Hidden Treasure” in Swahili.
Eco-Chic Safari
Sophie Menin
July 27, 2010
Interestingly, as Azad means “freedom” in Arabic, Urdu, Farsi, Turkish, and other languages, "Uhuru" means "freedom" in Swahili.
What Hogwarts Can Teach Muslims
Asra Q. Nomani
July 4, 2010
The Swahili language has been another powerful force in uniting Tanzanians.
A Gruesome Black Market
Eliza Barclay
October 28, 2009

Historical Examples of swahili

The request was repeated outside in Swahili, and turned into a strange tongue.
The Leopard Woman
Stewart Edward White
"You have asked a true question," Kingozi shifted to Swahili.
The Leopard Woman
Stewart Edward White
Those who understood Swahili murmured eagerly to those who did not.
The Leopard Woman
Stewart Edward White
"You have done well, very well," Kingozi shifted to Swahili.
The Leopard Woman
Stewart Edward White
He cursed in Swahili and Portuguese, and his language was forcible and impolite.
The Keepers of the King's Peace
Edgar Wallace

British Dictionary definitions for swahili

Swahili

noun

Also called: Kiswahili a language of E Africa that is an official language of Kenya and Tanzania and is widely used as a lingua franca throughout E and central Africa. It is a member of the Bantu group of the Niger-Congo family, originally spoken in Zanzibar, and has a large number of loan words taken from Arabic and other languages
Also called: Mswahili, Waswahili plural -lis or -li a member of a people speaking this language, living chiefly in Zanzibar

adjective

of or relating to the Swahilis or their language

Derived FormsSwahilian, adjective

Word Origin for Swahili

C19: from Arabic sawāhil coasts

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 swahili

Swahili

name of a Bantu people inhabiting the coast of South Africa, 1814, from Arabic sawahil, plural of sahil "coast" + gentilic suffix -i.