Yoruba
/jōrùbá/noun
A member of a West African ethnic group centered mainly in southwestern Nigeria, or the language spoken by that group.
Did you know?The Yoruba language preserves a highly developed tonal system in which pitch can change a word’s meaning, making spoken tone function almost like a second alphabet.
Etymological Timeline
Precolonial period
Yoruba
Yorùbá
“The modern Yoruba name for the people and their language; its ultimate internal origin remains uncertain.”
18th–19th Century
Hausa
Yarbāwa
“A Hausa designation historically used for the Yoruba, especially the people associated with the Oyo region.”
19th Century
English
Yoruba
“English-language form adopted in missionary, scholarly, and colonial writing for the people and their language.”
19th Century
Yoruba
èdè Yorùbá
“The Yoruba language, literally “Yoruba speech/language.””
Modern English
English
Yoruba
“The established English ethnonym and name of the language, also used in reference to Yoruba culture and traditions.”