Etymology

zimbabwe

Zim·ba·bwe
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Today it means: Any of the prominent cultural ruins of which Greater Zimbabwe is the most well known. Full definition →

Shona dzimba-dze-mabwe ← Proto-Bantu *ìbʊ̀è
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zimbabwe · noun1

From the Bantu word for a meeting house.

Zimbabwe · proper noun2

  1. Proto-Bantu*mbá
  2. Shonaimbá
  3. Proto-Bantu*ìbʊ̀è
  4. Shonaibwe
  5. Shonadzimba-dze-mabwe
  6. English todayZimbabwe

From Shona dzimba-dze-mabwe (“houses of stones”) (see imba (“house”), ibwe (“stone”)), in reference to Great Zimbabwe.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.