Swahili
abd
ab-DI
How to say it
Swahiliabdab-DIsoon
Englishservant, slavesoon
Frenchserviteur, esclavesoon
Meaning
a servant or slave (a literary Arabic borrowing, chiefly surviving inside personal names).
Good to know
rarely used alone in modern Swahili; survives as the first part of names like Abdallah, meaning 'servant of...'.
Examples
- Jina lake kamili ni Abdallah, yaani abd wa Mungu.His full name is Abdallah, that is 'servant of God'.
- Katika historia, abd alimaanisha mtu aliyekuwa mali ya bwana wake.In history, abd meant a person who was the property of his master.
- Maneno mengi ya majina yenye abdu- asili yake ni hii.Many names beginning with abdu- come from this root.
Not yet checked by a native speaker.