Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “mzungu” come from?

mzungu (English) comes from Swahili mzungu, from Proto-Bantu mʊ̀jʊ́ngʊ̀ — white person.

mzungu (English): A white person

Definitions

  1. A white person

Ancestry of “mzungu”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1SwahilimzunguEuropean, white person; rich person
2Proto-Bantumʊ̀jʊ́ngʊ̀white person
Every word from Proto-Bantu mʊ̀jʊ́ngʊ̀ →