harambee

H4A1R1A1M3B3E1E1

noun

A traditional Kenyan community self-help event or organization.

OriginSwahili harambee →
UncommonScrabble 15
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Meanings

nounharambee (plural harambees)

plural harambees

  1. A traditional Kenyan community self-help event or organization.

    The tension between spontaneity and control, which is at the core of nearly all analyses of harambee, is usually supposed to be that between the contending forces of 'the people' and the state.

    2003, M. P. Cowen, Doctrines Of Development, page 296

Origin

  1. Swahiliharambee
  2. Englishharambee

Borrowed from Swahili harambee.

More words from Swahili

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

harambee. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/harambee

MLA

“harambee.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/harambee. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “harambee,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/harambee.

Source: harambee on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.