Where does “mwanadamu” come from?
mwanadamu (Swahili) comes from Swahili Adamu, from Arabic آدَم, from Arabic آدَمُ, from Hebrew אָדָם, from Hebrew אדמה — earth, soil, land.
mwanadamu (Swahili): human
Ancestry of “mwanadamu”, step by step
mwanadamu traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Swahili Adamu
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Swahili | Adamu | Adam biblical figure |
| 2 | Arabic | آدَم | Adam |
| 3 | Arabic | آدَمُ | — |
| 4 | Hebrew | אָדָם | earth, man, soil, light brown; Adam; man, person |
| 5 | Hebrew | אדמה | earth, soil, land |
via Swahili mwana
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Swahili | mwana | child; In compounds, someone who does or has a... |
| 2 | Proto-Bantu | mʊ̀jánà | child |