shenzi

See also: shēnzi and shěnzi

English

Etymology

From Swahili -shenzi. loan word from Arabic 'Zanj' which means both black African and monkey.

Noun

shenzi (plural shenzis)

  1. (dated, Africa) A barbarian (variously used to refer to foreigners, Europeans, or pagans)
    • 1919, Stewart Edward White, The Land of Footprints, page 263:
      We instructed our men to shoot first and inquire afterward, if a shenzi so much as showed himself in the clearing.

Anagrams

Swahili

Etymology

Uncertain, perhaps from the same source as Arabic زَنْج (zanj, “Zanj”).

Pronunciation
  • Audio (Kenya)(file)

Adjective

-shenzi (declinable)

  1. uncivilized, barbarian

Declension
Inflected forms of -shenzi
Noun class singular plural
m-wa class(I/II) mshenzi
m-mi class(III/IV) mshenzi mishenzi
ji-ma class(V/VI) shenzi mashenzi
ki-vi class(VII/VIII) kishenzi vishenzi
n class(IX/X) shenzi shenzi
u class(XI) mshenzi see n(X) or ma(VI) class
pa class(XVI) pashenzi
ku class(XVII) kushenzi
mu class(XVIII) mushenzi

Derived terms
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