mzungu

Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word mzungu. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word mzungu, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say mzungu in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word mzungu you have here. The definition of the word mzungu will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofmzungu, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

Borrowed from Swahili mzungu.

Pronunciation

Noun

mzungu (plural mzungus or wazungu)

  1. (East Africa) A white person.
    • 1888, Joseph Thomson, E. Harris-Smith, Ulu: an African romance: Volume 1:
      I have given my daughter to an mzungu, and he says he will make her like the wives of the white men.
    • 2004, Dan McNickle, Teaching and Hunting in East Africa:
      suspicion about an mzungu wanting a copy of the country's constitution

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

Chichewa

Etymology

An early borrowing from another African language, ultimately from Common Bantu *mʊ̀díʊ́ngʊ̀.

Pronunciation

Noun

mzungu class 1 (plural azungu class 2)

  1. white person

Swahili

Swahili Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia sw

Etymology

From Common Bantu *mʊ̀díʊ́ngʊ̀.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /mˈzu.ᵑɡu/
  • Audio (Kenya):(file)

Noun

mzungu (m-wa class, plural wazungu)

  1. European, white person
    Synonym: mweupe
  2. (sometimes derogatory) rich person (who is not white)