kenda mũiyũru
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Kikuyu[edit]
Etymology[edit]
kenda (“nine”) + mũ- (“adjectival prefix: Class 14”) + -iyũru (“full”), thus “full nine”.
Pronunciation[edit]
Numeral[edit]
Usage notes[edit]
Although Kikuyu language has terms indicating “ten” as listed in the synonymy, this number used to be believed to be unlucky and this euphemism was used instead when they counted.[2] This expression also implies the number of Kikuyu clans (mĩhĩrĩga).[3]
References[edit]
- ^ “-iyũru” in Benson, T.G. (1964). Kikuyu-English dictionary, p. 194. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
- ^ Kamau, Susan (2013) Let's Cook Kenya: National Ethnic Foods[1], Nairobi: Sliced Onion Company Limited, →ISBN, page 63
- ^ Olney, James (1973) Tell Me Africa: An Approach to African Literature[2], Princeton University Press, page 89