enja

Kikuyu

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɛɲdʑa/

Etymology 1

Hinde (1904) records kuenja as an equivalent of English dig in “Jogowini dialect” of Kikuyu, listing also “Ulu dialect” (spoken then from Machakos to coastal area) of Kamba kuendzema and “Nganyawa dialect” (spoken then in Kitui District) of Kamba kuenza as its equivalents.[1]

Verb

enja (infinitive kwenja)

  1. to dig[2]
    kwenja marima - to dig holes

Etymology 2

Hinde (1904) records kuinja as an equivalent of English shave in “Jogowini dialect” of Kikuyu, listing also “Ulu dialect” (spoken then from Machakos to coastal area) of Kamba gumwendza as its equivalent.[3]

Verb

enja (infinitive kwenja)

  1. to shave[2]
    kwenja nderu - to shave beards
Derived terms

(Nouns)

  • mwenji class 1

(Proverbs)

  • kĩongo kĩenjagwo mwene oiga

(Nouns)

  • rwenji class 11

References

  1. ↑ Hinde, Hildegarde (1904). Vocabularies of the Kamba and Kikuyu languages of East Africa, pp. 18–19. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  2. 1 2 Barlow, A. Ruffell (1960). Studies in Kikuyu Grammar and Idiom, pp. 32, 228.
  3. ↑ Hinde, Hildegarde (1904). Vocabularies of the Kamba and Kikuyu languages of East Africa, pp. 52–53. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Armstrong, Lilias E. (1940). The Phonetic and Tonal Structure of Kikuyu, pp. 360–361. Rep. 1967. (Also in 2018 by Routledge).
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