Mugikuyu
/ˌmuːɡɪˈkuːjuː/noun
A singular English form referring to a member of the Kikuyu, or Agikuyu, people of Kenya.
Did you know?The ethnonym is connected in Gikuyu tradition with the mũkũyũ fig tree, beneath which Gikuyu origin narratives place important acts of divine creation and human ancestry.
Etymological Timeline
Precolonial Gikuyu tradition
Gikuyu
mũkũyũ
“A sacred fig tree, associated with ancestry, gathering, and ritual significance.”
Precolonial Gikuyu
Gikuyu
Gĩkũyũ
“The name associated with the Gikuyu people and, traditionally, with the fig tree.”
19th Century
Gikuyu
Mũgĩkũyũ
“A singular member of the Gikuyu people; the plural is Agĩkũyũ.”
19th–20th Century
Swahili/English
Kikuyu
“An exonym and later standard English name for the people, language, and region.”
Modern English
English
Mugikuyu
“A less common English singular form for a member of the Kikuyu people.”