bifi

Fula

Noun

bifi ɗi

1. harmattan

Dialectal variants

• kaaruwaaru (Adamawa)
• mbooy (Fouta-toro)
• duluuru (Liptaako)
• ulgu (Maasina)
• cuddi (Maasina)

Sahu

Etymology

Borrowed from Ternate bifi.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbi.fi/

Noun

bifi

1. ant

References

• Leontine Visser, Clemens Voorhoeve (1987) Sahu-Indonesian-English Dictionary, Brill

Ternate

Etymology

Possibly from N- (“nominalizer”) +‎ fifi (“to suck”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbi.fi/

Noun

bifi (Jawi بيفي)

1. ant

Descendants

• → North Moluccan Malay: bifi (“ant”)
  • → Manado Malay: bifi (“ant”)
• → Sahu: bifi (“ant”)

References

• Frederik Sigismund Alexander de Clercq (1890) Bijdragen tot de kennis der Residentie Ternate, E.J. Brill
• Rika Hayami-Allen (2001) A descriptive study of the language of Ternate, the northern Moluccas, Indonesia, University of Pittsburgh