Swati, noun
/ˈswɑːti/
- Origin:
- siSwatiShow more siSwati: from either siSwati the siSwati language, or emaSwati (the) Swazis (singular liSwati), both formed on the name of umSwati, a leader who consolidated the Swazi peoples during the 1840s.
- Note:
- Swazi (the Zulu name for this people and their language) is the usual form in South African English.
1. Usually siSwati /sɪˈswɑːti/, /si-/ [siSwati n. class prefix si-], also Seswati, Siswati: Swazi noun sense 2. Also attributive.
1975 Std Encycl. of Sn Afr. X. 372The Swazi language (siSwati) is typically Bantu, and is related to Zulu and Xhosa.
2. rare. Plural amaSwati. [In siSwati the plural prefix is ema- (the form ama- being isiZulu).] In the plural : The Swazis (see Swazi noun sense 1 a). Also attributive.
1977 World 28 Sept. 7The Soweto tycoon appointed chief of the Amaswati on the Witwatersrand last week...Among the Amaswati chiefs present were: Paramount Chief Jakonia Tshabalala and the Swazi chief of the Orange Free State, Chief Paulos Tshabalala.
Usually siSwati /sɪˈswɑːti/, /si-/ [siSwati n. class prefix si-], also Seswati, Siswati: Swazi noun sense 2. Also attributive.
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