Etymology

zaire

Z10A1I1R1E1

Today it means: The unit of currency of Zaire from 1967 to 1998. Full definition →

French zaïre
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zaire · noun1

  1. French · borrowed fromzaïre
  2. English todayzaire

Borrowed from French zaïre. Named after the Zaire River, another name for the Congo River.

Zaire · proper noun2

  1. Proto-Bantu*jade
  2. Kongonzadi
  3. Kongoo
  4. Kongonzere
  5. Kongonzadi o nzere
  6. PortugueseZaire
  7. FrenchZaïre
  8. English todayZaire

Borrowed from French Zaïre, a truncation of Kongo nzadi o nzere (“river swallowing rivers”) which refers to the Congo river; adopted in accordance with the Authenticity Movement.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.