Where does “banyana” come from?

banyana (Zulu) comes from Zulu bana, from Zulu bi, from Proto-Bantu -bɪ́ɪ̀ — bad.

banyana (Zulu): ugly but dear

Definitions

  1. ugly but dear

Ancestry of “banyana”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Zulubanarather bad; somewhat evil; somewhat ugly
2Zulubibad; evil; ugly
3Proto-Bantu-bɪ́ɪ̀bad
Every word from Proto-Bantu -bɪ́ɪ̀ →Every word from Zulu bi →Every word from Zulu bana →