Swahili

noun Swa·hi·li \swä-ˈhē-lē\

: a language widely used in East Africa and the Congo region

plural Swahili or Swahilis

Full Definition of SWAHILI

: a member of a Bantu-speaking people of Zanzibar and the adjacent coast

: a Bantu language that is a trade and governmental language over much of East Africa and in the Congo region

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Arabic sawāḥil, plural of sāḥil coast

First Known Use: 1814

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