maĩ
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See also: Appendix:Variations of "mai"
Kikuyu[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Proto-Bantu *màjíjɪ̀. Hinde (1904) records maii as an equivalent of English water and liquid in “Jogowini dialect” of Kikuyu, listing also Kamba maanzi (“water”) and Swahili maji (“water, liquid”) etc. as its equivalents.[1]
Pronunciation[edit]
- This a is pronounced long.[2][3]
- As for Tonal Class, Armstrong (1940) classifies this term into mbori class which includes mbũri, ikinya (pl. makinya), itimũ, kĩhaato, maguta, mbembe, mũgeka, mũrata, nyaga, ũhoro, riitho, riũa, rũrĩmĩ, Kamau (“man's name”), etc.[4] Benson (1964) classifies this term into Class 3 with a disyllabic stem, together with kĩhaato, mbembe, kiugo, and so on.
- (Kiambu)
- (Limuru) As for Tonal Class, Yukawa (1981) classifies this term into a group including bũrũri (pl. mabũrũri), ikara, ikinya, itimũ, kanitha (pl. makanitha), kiugo, kĩhaato, maguta, mũgeka, mũkonyo, mũrata, mwana, mbembe, mbũri, nyaga, riitho, riũa, rũrĩmĩ (pl. nĩmĩ), ũhoro (pl. mohoro), and so on.[5]
Noun[edit]
maĩ class 6[3](diminutives tũĩ, tũmaĩ)
Derived terms[edit]
(Proverbs)
- kũhũ(ũ)ra maaĩ na ndĩrĩ
- kũũma ti kũũma ta ihiga, na kwororoa to kwororoa ta maaĩ
- maaĩ ma mũndũ matimũhĩtũkaga
Related terms[edit]
(Nouns)
References[edit]
- ^ Hinde, Hildegarde (1904). Vocabularies of the Kamba and Kikuyu languages of East Africa, pp. 36–37, 64–65. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- ^ Barlow, A. Ruffell (1960). Studies in Kikuyu Grammar and Idiom, p. 32.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 “maĩ” in Benson, T.G. (1964). Kikuyu-English dictionary, p. 194. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
- ^ Armstrong, Lilias E. (1940). The Phonetic and Tonal Structure of Kikuyu. Rep. 1967. (Also in 2018 by Routledge).
- ^ Yukawa, Yasutoshi (1981). "A Tentative Tonal Analysis of Kikuyu Nouns: A Study of Limuru Dialect." In Journal of Asian and African Studies, No. 22, 75–123.