Niassa
/niˈæsə/noun
A province and lake in northern Mozambique, also known historically as Nyasa.
Did you know?The lake called Niassa in Mozambique is better known internationally as Lake Malawi, reflecting competing colonial-era names for the same body of water.
Etymological Timeline
Early Bantu
Bantu
*nyasa
“Reconstructed term associated with a lake or large body of water in southeastern Africa.”
Precolonial period
Yao and related Bantu languages
nyasa
“Lake; a major inland body of water.”
19th Century
English
Nyasa
“Name used by European explorers and mapmakers for the great lake of southeastern Africa.”
19th Century
English
Nyasaland
““Land of Nyasa,” the former colonial name for the territory now called Malawi.”
20th Century
Portuguese
Niassa
“Portuguese form used for the lake and for the northern Mozambican province.”
Modern English
English
Niassa
“A proper name referring chiefly to Mozambique’s Niassa Province or Lake Niassa.”
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