mũũnyũ

Kikuyu

Alternative forms

mũnyũ

Etymology

Hinde (1904) records munyu as an equivalent of English salt in “Jogowini dialect” of Kikuyu, listing also Kamba munyu and Swahili munyo as its equivalents.[1]

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /moòɲóꜜ/

As for Tonal Class, Benson (1964) classifies this term into Class 3 with a disyllabic stem, together with kĩhaato, mbembe, kiugo, and so on.

(Kiambu)
- (Limuru) As for Tonal Class, Yukawa (1981) classifies this term into a group including bũrũri (pl. mabũrũri), ikara, ikinya, itimũ, kanitha (pl. makanitha), kiugo, kĩhaato, maguta, mũgeka, mũkonyo, mũrata, mwana, mbembe, mbũri, nyaga, riitho, riũa, rũrĩmĩ (pl. nĩmĩ), ũhoro (pl. mohoro), and so on.[2]

Noun

mũũnyũ class 3 (plural mĩũnyũ)

salty earth[3]
(for cattle) salt lick[4]

References

Hinde, Hildegarde (1904) Vocabularies of the Kamba and Kikuyu languages of East Africa‎, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pages 50–1
Yukawa, Yasutoshi (1981). "A Tentative Tonal Analysis of Kikuyu Nouns: A Study of Limuru Dialect." In Journal of Asian and African Studies, No. 22, 75–123.
“mũũnyũ” in Benson, T.G. (1964). Kikuyu-English dictionary, p. 556. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Ng'ang'a, Wangũhũ (2006) Kenya's Ethnic Communities: Foundation of the Nation‎, Nairobi, Kenya: Gatũndũ Publishers, →ISBN, page 175

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[hh1904-1] Hinde, Hildegarde (1904) Vocabularies of the Kamba and Kikuyu languages of East Africa‎, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pages 50–1

[yy1981-2] Yukawa, Yasutoshi (1981). "A Tentative Tonal Analysis of Kikuyu Nouns: A Study of Limuru Dialect." In Journal of Asian and African Studies, No. 22, 75–123.

[3] “mũũnyũ” in Benson, T.G. (1964). Kikuyu-English dictionary, p. 556. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

[4] Ng'ang'a, Wangũhũ (2006) Kenya's Ethnic Communities: Foundation of the Nation‎, Nairobi, Kenya: Gatũndũ Publishers, →ISBN, page 175