kenda mũiyũru
Kikuyu
editEtymology
editkenda (“nine”) + mũ- (“adjectival prefix: Class 14”) + -iyũru (“full”), thus “full nine”.
Pronunciation
editNumeral
editUsage notes
editAlthough Kikuyu language has terms indicating “ten” as listed in the synonymy, this number used to be believed to be unlucky and this euphemism was used instead when they counted.[2] This expression also implies the number of Kikuyu clans (mĩhĩrĩga).[3]
References
edit- ^ “-iyũru” in Benson, T.G. (1964). Kikuyu-English dictionary, p. 194. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
- ^ Kamau, Susan (2013) Let's Cook Kenya: National Ethnic Foods[1], Nairobi: Sliced Onion Company Limited, →ISBN, page 63
- ^ Olney, James (1973) Tell Me Africa: An Approach to African Literature[2], Princeton University Press, page 89