Rundi
/ˈrʊn.di/noun
A Bantu language spoken mainly in Burundi and neighboring regions, also known as Kirundi.
Did you know?Rundi is more commonly called Kirundi, where the Bantu prefix ki- identifies a language; the same naming pattern appears in Kiswahili and Kinyarwanda.
Etymological Timeline
Precolonial period
Bantu
rundi
“An ethnolinguistic name associated with the people and region later known as Burundi; the ultimate root is uncertain.”
19th Century
Rundi
Rundi
“A regional language and ethnonym used in descriptions of the kingdom and its inhabitants.”
19th–20th Century
Kirundi
Kirundi
“The language name formed with ki-, a Bantu noun-class prefix commonly used for languages.”
1890s–1960s
European usage
Urundi
“A colonial-era spelling used for the territory that became part of the name Ruanda-Urundi.”
Modern English
English
Rundi
“The established English name for the Bantu language also called Kirundi.”