Where does “kiSwahili” come from?
kiSwahili (Swahili) comes from Arabic سَوَاحِل, from Arabic سَاحِل — coast; boundary, coast; border of the desert.
Ancestry of “kiSwahili”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Arabic | سَوَاحِل | coastal dwellers |
| 2 | Arabic | سَاحِل | coast; boundary, coast; border of the desert |