mwatũ

Kikuyu

FWOTD – 24 July 2021

mĩatũ

Etymology

Hinde (1904) records mwatu “barrel” and mwātu “honey box” in “Jogowini dialect” of Kikuyu, listing also Kamba mwatu (“honey box”) as their equivalent.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /moàtǒ/

As for Tonal Class, Armstrong (1940) classifies this term into mote class which includes mũtĩ, gĩkwa (pl. ikwa), gĩthaka, kĩnya, kĩrũũmi, mũcinga, mũgate, mũhaka, mũrũthi, njagĩ, njohi, nyũmba, etc. Benson (1964) classifies this term into Class 2 with a disyllabic stem, together with kĩgunyũ, njagĩ, kiugũ, and so on.

• (Kiambu)

• (Limuru) As for Tonal Class, as mũatũ, Yukawa (1981) classifies this term into a group including gĩkwa (pl. ikwa), ithangũ (pl. mathangũ), kiugũ, kĩboko, kĩgunyũ, kĩnya, kĩroboto, kĩrũũmi, mbogo, mũcinga, mũgate, mũhaka, mũrangi, mũrũthi, ndaraca, ndirica, njohi, nyũmba, thĩ, and so on.

Noun

mwatũ class 3 (plural mĩatũ)

1. beehive made of tree trunk split in two and hollowed out

   mwatũ wa njũkĩ - hive of bee(s)

2. cylindrical wooden barrel whose both ends have lids, used for storage in the home

Derived terms

(Proverbs)

• gĩthũri kĩrĩ mwatũ wa ngotoko
• kĩrimũ nĩ ta mwatũ
• thegere igĩrĩ itiremagwo nĩ mwatũ