kadogo

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Swahili kadogo.

Noun

kadogo (plural kadogos or kadogo)

1. (Eastern Congo) A child soldier. Usually referring to the east congoloese rebel armies that used numerous child soldiers.
   • 2009, René Lemarchand, The Dynamics of Violence in Central Africa, Philadelphia, page 239:

     In brief, the kadogos and the Angolans had different sets of grievances, yet they both converged on the same target.

   • 2011, Jason K Stearns, Dancing in the Glory of Monsters, PublicAffairs, published 2012, page 183:

     In the early months of 1998, Kabila's army was a loose pastiche of kadogo, Katangan Tigers, and new recruits.

   • 2013, Tom Cooper, Great Lakes Conflagration, Helion & Company, page 55:

     With their retreat route cut off, the FAC kadogo began defecting in droves, many fleeing across the border into Zambia.

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Swahili kadogo.

Noun

kadogo m (plural kadogos or kadogo)

1. (Eastern Congo) a child soldier

Swahili

Etymology

From a dialectal form of kidogo, using ka-.

Pronunciation

• Audio (Kenya):

  (file)

Noun

kadogo

1. (dialectal) little one
2. (colloquial) young boy

Adverb

kadogo

1. (dialectal) Alternative form of kidogo