Sahel
/səˈhɛl/noun
A semiarid belt of land stretching across Africa between the Sahara Desert and the more humid regions to the south.
Did you know?The name Swahili comes from the same Arabic word: sawāḥil, meaning “coasts” or “shores,” because it originally described East Africa’s coastal peoples and culture.
Etymological Timeline
Classical Arabic
Arabic
sāḥil
“Coast, shore, or boundary beside a body of water”
Medieval Arabic
Arabic
sawāḥil
“Coasts or shores; the plural form of sāḥil”
Medieval East Africa
Arabic–Swahili
Swahili
“Of the coasts; referring to coastal East African people, language, and culture”
19th Century
French
Sahel
“The transitional region along the southern edge of the Sahara”
Modern English
English
Sahel
“The semiarid African belt between the Sahara and tropical Africa”