siafu
English edit
Etymology edit
Noun edit
siafu (plural siafus or siafu)
- An army ant.
- 2016, Kevin Baker, The World's Most Dangerous Animals:
- Male driver ants leave the colony soon after they hatch but are drawn to the scent trails left by colonies of siafu ants when they reach sexual maturity.
- 1957, William W. Baldwin, Mau Mau Man-hunt, page 216:
- The siafus, together with the hyena, jackal and vulture, are the great scavengers of Kenya.
Swahili edit
Pronunciation edit
Audio (Kenya) (file)
Noun edit
siafu (n class, plural siafu)
Ternate edit
Etymology 1 edit
Cognate with Sahu siau, Galela siapu, Loloda siau.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
siafu
- the plant Dioscorea esculenta var. tiliifolia
Etymology 2 edit
Pronunciation edit
Verb edit
siafu
Conjugation edit
| Conjugation of siafu | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singular | Plural | |||
| Inclusive | Exclusive | |||
| 1st | tosiafu | fosiafu | misiafu | |
| 2nd | nosiafu | nisiafu | ||
| 3rd | Masculine | osiafu | isiafu, yosiafu† | |
| Feminine | mosiafu | |||
| Neuter | isiafu | |||
| † - archaic | ||||
References edit
- Rika Hayami-Allen (2001) A descriptive study of the language of Ternate, the northern Moluccas, Indonesia, University of Pittsburgh