mnafiki

Swahili

Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic مُنَافِق (munāfiq). The first syllable of the Arabic word has been reinterpreted as the Swahili noun prefix m-.

Pronunciation

• Audio (Kenya)

  (file)

Noun

mnafiki (m-wa class, plural wanafiki)

1. hypocrite, pretender, impostor, liar

Derived terms

• unafiki (“hypocrisy”)

 

References

• Baldi, Sergio (2020 November 30) Dictionary of Arabic Loanwords in the Languages of Central and East Africa (Handbuch der Orientalistik; Erste Abteilung: Der Nahe und der Mittlere Osten; 145), Leiden • Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 293 No. 2777