mvinyo

Swahili

Etymology

Borrowed from Portuguese vinho.[1] The m- is in fact originally an n-, which was prefixed to the stem as a result of the term's placement in the n class.

Pronunciation
  • Audio (Kenya)(file)

Noun

mvinyo (n class, plural mvinyo) or mvinyo (m-mi class, plural mivinyo)

  1. wine
    Synonym: divai
  2. spirits

References
  1. Mugane, John M. (2015) The Story of Swahili (Africa in World History), Athens, Ohio: Ohio University Press, →ISBN, page 53: “In addition, the Swahili adopted Portuguese words […] vinho (wine) was taken in as mvinyo and extended to include distilled spirits;”
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