Osogbo
/ɔ̀ʃɔ́ɡ͡bɔ́/noun
A city in southwestern Nigeria and the capital of Osun State.
Did you know?Osogbo is internationally associated with the Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove, a UNESCO World Heritage Site dedicated to Osun, the Yoruba river deity of fertility and healing.
Etymological Timeline
Precolonial period
Yoruba
Ọ̀ṣọ́gbó
“The indigenous Yoruba name for the settlement; its precise original analysis is uncertain.”
18th Century
Yoruba
Ọ̀ṣọ́gbó
“A developing Yoruba settlement associated with migration, hunting traditions, and the sacred cult of Osun.”
19th Century
Yoruba
Ọ̀ṣọ́gbó
“A prominent town in the Yoruba region; oral traditions preserved several competing explanations for the name.”
19th Century
English colonial usage
Oshogbo
“An anglicized spelling used in colonial records and maps.”
20th Century
Modern Yoruba/English
Osogbo
“The standardized modern English spelling of the Nigerian city.”