Main Entry:

Swa·hi·li

Pronunciation:

\swä-ˈhē-lē\

Function:

noun

Inflected Form(s):

plural Swahili or Swahilis

Etymology:

Arabic sawāḥil, plural of sāḥil coast

Date:

1814

1 : a member of a Bantu-speaking people of Zanzibar and the adjacent coast 2 : a Bantu language that is a trade and governmental language over much of East Africa and in the Congo region