Zimbabwe
/zɪmˈbɑːbweɪ/noun
A country in southern Africa, named after the historic stone city of Great Zimbabwe.
Did you know?Zimbabwe comes from a Shona phrase tied to Great Zimbabwe, the medieval stone city whose name is usually explained as dzimba-dza-mabwe, meaning “houses of stone.”
Etymological Timeline
Precolonial Shona
Shona
dzimba-dza-mabwe
“houses of stone”
14th–15th Century
Shona
Zimbabwe
“name associated with the great stone-built royal enclosure/city”
19th Century
English
Zimbabwe
“name used in colonial-era references to the historic site and region”
1980
English
Zimbabwe
“name adopted for the independent nation”