Meanings
proper noun
- A country in Southern Africa. Capital: Gaborone.
- Bechuanaland, fully the Bechuanaland Protectorate, a colony of the United Kingdom from 1885 to 1966
- The Republic of Botswana, since 1966.
According to Masisi, Botswana has seen its elephant population grow to some 130,000.
2024 April 3, Nadine Schmidt, Sarah Dean and Ingrid Formanek, “Botswana threatens to send 20,000 elephants to Germany in trophy hunting dispute”, in CNN1 more example
After independence, Rhodesia changed its name to Zimbabwe, Nyasaland to Malawi, and Bechuanaland to Botswana.
2018 April 20, Bard Wilkinson, “Absolute monarch renames Swaziland ‘eSwatini’”, in CNN
Origin
- Proto-Bantu*bʊ̀-
- Tswanabo-
- TswanaTswana
- TswanaBotswana
- EnglishBotswana
Borrowed from Tswana Botswana, from bo- + Tswana, of uncertain origin.
More words from Tswana
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans Botswana
- BotswanaRepublic of Botswana
Arabic بُتْسْوَانَا, بُوتْسْوَانَا
- بُتْسْوَانَا (butswānā)Republic of Botswana
- بُوتْسْوَانَا (būtswānā)Republic of Botswana
Bengali বতসোয়ানা
- বতসোয়ানা (botśōẇana)Republic of Botswana
Bulgarian Ботсва́на
- Ботсва́на (Botsvána)Republic of Botswana
Catalan Botswana
- BotswanaRepublic of Botswana
Chinese Mandarin 博茨瓦納 /博茨瓦纳, 波札那
- 博茨瓦納 /博茨瓦纳 (Bócíwǎnà)Republic of Botswana
- 波札那 (Bōzhánà)Republic of Botswana
Czech Botswana
- BotswanaRepublic of Botswana
Danish Botswana
- BotswanaRepublic of Botswana
Dutch Botswana
- BotswanaRepublic of Botswana
Esperanto Bocvano
- BocvanoRepublic of Botswana
Estonian Botswana
- BotswanaRepublic of Botswana
Finnish Botswana
- BotswanaRepublic of Botswana
French Botswana
- BotswanaRepublic of Botswana
German Botsuana
- BotsuanaRepublic of Botswana
Greek Μποτσουάνα
- Μποτσουάνα (Botsouána)Republic of Botswana
Hebrew בוצוונה
- בוצוונה (botswana)Republic of Botswana
Hindi बोत्सवाना
- बोत्सवाना (botsavānā)Republic of Botswana
Hungarian Botswana
- BotswanaRepublic of Botswana
Indonesian Botswana
- BotswanaRepublic of Botswana
Irish An Bhotsuáin
- An BhotsuáinRepublic of Botswana
Italian Botswana
- BotswanaRepublic of Botswana
Japanese ボツワナ
- ボツワナ (Botsuwana)Republic of Botswana
Korean 보츠와나
- 보츠와나 (Bocheuwana)Republic of Botswana
Latvian Botsvana
- BotsvanaRepublic of Botswana
Lithuanian Botsvana
- BotsvanaRepublic of Botswana
Māori Poriwana, Potiwana
- PoriwanaRepublic of Botswana
- PotiwanaRepublic of Botswana
Norwegian Botswana
- BotswanaRepublic of Botswana
Persian بوتسوانا
- بوتسواناRepublic of Botswana
Polish Botswana
- BotswanaRepublic of Botswana
Portuguese Botsuana
- BotsuanaRepublic of Botswana
Romanian Botswana
- BotswanaRepublic of Botswana
Russian Ботсва́на
- Ботсва́на (Botsvána)Republic of Botswana
Slovak Botswana
- BotswanaRepublic of Botswana
Spanish Botsuana
- BotsuanaRepublic of Botswana
Swahili Botswana
- BotswanaRepublic of Botswana
Swedish Botswana
- BotswanaRepublic of Botswana
Tagalog Botswana
- BotswanaRepublic of Botswana
Tamil போட்ஸ்வானா, போட்சுவானா
- போட்ஸ்வானா (pōṭsvāṉā)Republic of Botswana
- போட்சுவானா (pōṭcuvāṉā)Republic of Botswana
Thai บอตสวานา
- บอตสวานา (bɔ́ɔt-sà-waa-nâa)Republic of Botswana
Turkish Botsvana
- BotsvanaRepublic of Botswana
Ukrainian Ботсва́на
- Ботсва́на (Botsvána)Republic of Botswana
Vietnamese Bốt-xoa-na
- Bốt-xoa-naRepublic of Botswana
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with Botswana
MontanaghanaanadanaGuyananirvanaAmericanamanananaTijuanaiguanacabanapranaTiranaarcanakanaohanayanaAfricanabrewerianaDisneyanakatakanalianahiragana
All rhymes →Cite this entry
APA
Botswana. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Botswana
MLA
“Botswana.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Botswana. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Botswana,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Botswana.
Source: Botswana on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.