Etymology

Kenya

Ke·n·ya
K5E1N1Y4A1

Today it means: A country in East Africa. Official name: Republic of Kenya. Full definition →

Kikuyu kere nyaga ← kam kii nyaa
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The story

  1. Kikuyu · borrowed fromkĩrĩma“mountain”
  2. kam · borrowed fromkii nyaa“ostrich mountain”
  3. Kikuyu · borrowed fromkere nyaga“white mountain”
  4. English todayKenya

From the name of Mount Kenya, about which several theories exist, including * from Kikuyu kere nyaga (“white mountain”) (because it is snow-capped) * from Kamba kii nyaa (“ostrich mountain”) * from Kikuyu kĩrĩma (“mountain”)

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.