Swazi
/ˈswɑːzi/noun
A person from Eswatini, or relating to its people, language, or culture.
Did you know?The name Swazi is generally connected to King Mswati II, the nineteenth-century ruler whose reign helped consolidate the Swazi kingdom; Eswatini was officially renamed from Swaziland in 2018.
Etymological Timeline
Early 19th Century
Nguni
Mswati
“The personal name of Mswati II, the ruler traditionally associated with the expansion and consolidation of the Swazi kingdom.”
19th Century
Zulu/Nguni
amaSwazi
“The Swazi people; the prefix ama- marks a plural human group in Nguni languages.”
19th Century
siSwati
emaSwatini
“In or among the Swazi people; the form underlying the modern name Eswatini.”
19th Century
English
Swazi
“An English adjective and noun referring to the Swazi people, their language, or their kingdom.”
20th Century
English
Swaziland
“The former English name of the country, literally identifying it as the land of the Swazi.”
2018
English
Eswatini
“The country’s official English name, adopted to reflect the indigenous name meaning roughly “land of the Swazi people.””