Etymology Explorer › Swahili

Where does “pijini” come from?

pijini (Swahili) comes from English pidgin, from Chinese Pidgin English pidgin, from English business, from Middle English busines, from Old English bisiġnes, from Old English -nes, from Proto-West Germanic -nassī, from Proto-Germanic -inassuz — Creates collective nouns, which refer to groups...

pijini (Swahili): pidgin

Definitions

  1. pidgin

Ancestry of “pijini”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishpidginAn amalgamation of two disparate languages, used...
2Chinese Pidgin Englishpidginbusiness
3EnglishbusinessA specific commercial enterprise or...
4Middle Englishbusines—
5Old Englishbisiġnesbusiness, busyness
6Old English-nesUsed to form abstract nouns, usually from...
7Proto-West Germanic-nassīUsed to form abstract nouns, usually from...
8Proto-Germanic-inassuz-ness
9Proto-West Germanic-ī-ness, -th
10Proto-Germanic-į̄-th
11Proto-Indo-European-íh₂—
12Proto-Indo-European-h₂Creates collective nouns, which refer to groups...
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -h₂ →