Dinka

Din·ka

noun \ˈdiŋ-kə\

plural Dinkas also Dinka

Definition of DINKA

1

: a member of a pastoral people of the Nile Valley in south central Sudan

2

: the Nilotic language of the Dinkas

Origin of DINKA

probably ultimately from Dinka jieŋ, a self-designation

First Known Use: 1861

Rhymes with DINKA

finca, Glinka, Inca, vinca

Dinka

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Dinka village on the Nile River in the southern Sudan.—Henriette Grindat

Cattle-herding people of the Nile basin in southern Sudan. They speak an eastern Sudanic language of the Nilo-Saharan family and are closely related to the Nuer. Numbering about four million, they are divided into independent groups of 1,000–30,000 persons. Leadership is provided by priest-chiefs. In recent years they have been involved in civil war. See also Nilot.