Zaïre

See also: zaire, Zaire, and zaïre

English

Proper noun

Zaïre

1. Alternative spelling of Zaire: (historical) Former name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo: a country in Central Africa; used from 1971–1997

Anagrams

• arize, rezai, Azeri

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from French Zaïre ultimately from Kongo nzadi o nzere (“river swallowing rivers”), which refers to the Congo river.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌzaːˈiː.rə/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: Za‧ire
• Rhymes: -iːrə

Proper noun

Zaïre n

1. (historical) Zaire (former name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo: a country in Central Africa; used from 1971–1997)

Derived terms

• Zaïrees

Further reading

• “Zaïre” in Woordenlijst Nederlandse Taal – Officiële Spelling, Nederlandse Taalunie. [the official spelling word list for the Dutch language]
• Zaïre on the Dutch Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^nl

French

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Bantu *jade

Kongo nzadi

Kongo o

Kongo nzere

Kongo nzadi o nzereder.

Portuguese Zairebor.

French Zaïre

Borrowed from Portuguese Zaire, a truncation of Kongo nzadi o nzere (“river swallowing rivers”) which refers to the Congo river; adopted in accordance with the Authenticity Movement.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /za.iʁ/

• Audio:

  (file)

Proper noun

Zaïre m

1. (historical) Zaire (former name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo: a country in Central Africa; used from 1971–1997)

   la République du Zaïre

Anagrams

• azéri, Azéri