Ibadan
/ɪˈbɑːdən/noun
A major city in southwestern Nigeria and the capital of Oyo State.
Did you know?Ibadan’s name is commonly explained as a contraction of Yoruba ìbàdàn, from ìba, “by or at,” and odan, “savanna or open grassland.”
Etymological Timeline
Precolonial Yoruba
Yoruba
ìbàdàn
“A place by or beside the open grassland”
19th Century
Yoruba
ìba + odan
“A compound interpreted as “by the savanna,” referring to the city’s setting”
19th Century
English
Ibadan
“The established English rendering of the Yoruba place-name”
1850s
English
Ibadan
“A major Yoruba city recorded in British colonial-era writing”
Modern English
English
Ibadan
“A large Nigerian city and an important cultural, educational, and commercial center”