Gikuyu
/ɡiˈkjuːjuː/noun
A Bantu language and the people who speak it, mainly in central Kenya.
Did you know?Gikuyu is the name used by the people themselves for both the ethnic group and their language, and its deeper origin is tied to a revered ancestral figure in Kikuyu tradition rather than a transparent dictionary-style compound.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Bantu / Oral tradition
Bantu
*Gĩkũyũ*
“A traditional ethnonym linked to the ancestral figure Gĩkũyũ in Kikuyu cultural memory”
Precolonial East Africa
Kikuyu
Gĩkũyũ
“The Kikuyu people; also the Kikuyu language”
19th Century
English
Kikuyu
“The people and language of central Kenya, recorded by European writers”
Modern English
English
Gikuyu
“Preferred self-designation spelling used in modern contexts for the people and language”