maĩ

See also: Appendix:Variations of "mai"

Kikuyu

Alternative forms

maaĩ

Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *màjíjɪ̀. Hinde (1904) records maii as an equivalent of English water and liquid in “Jogowini dialect” of Kikuyu, listing also Kamba maanzi (“water”) and Swahili maji (“water, liquid”) etc. as its equivalents.[1]

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /màːéꜜ/

This a is pronounced long.[2][3]

As for Tonal Class, Armstrong (1940) classifies this term into mbori class which includes mbũri, ikinya (pl. makinya), itimũ, kĩhaato, maguta, mbembe, mũgeka, mũrata, nyaga, ũhoro, riitho, riũa, rũrĩmĩ, Kamau (“man's name”), etc.[4] 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.[5]

Noun

maĩ class 6[3](diminutives tũĩ, tũmaĩ)

water
kũnyua maĩ ― to drink water

Derived terms

(Proverbs)

kũhũ(ũ)ra maaĩ na ndĩrĩ
kũũma ti kũũma ta ihiga, na kwororoa to kwororoa ta maaĩ
maaĩ ma mũndũ matimũhĩtũkaga

Related terms

(Nouns)

rũũĩ

References

Hinde, Hildegarde (1904). Vocabularies of the Kamba and Kikuyu languages of East Africa, pp. 36–37, 64–65. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Barlow, A. Ruffell (1960). Studies in Kikuyu Grammar and Idiom, p. 32.
“maĩ” in Benson, T.G. (1964). Kikuyu-English dictionary, p. 194. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Armstrong, Lilias E. (1940). The Phonetic and Tonal Structure of Kikuyu. Rep. 1967. (Also in 2018 by Routledge).
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.

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[hh1904-1] Hinde, Hildegarde (1904). Vocabularies of the Kamba and Kikuyu languages of East Africa, pp. 36–37, 64–65. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

[arb1960-2] Barlow, A. Ruffell (1960). Studies in Kikuyu Grammar and Idiom, p. 32.

[tgb1964-3] “maĩ” in Benson, T.G. (1964). Kikuyu-English dictionary, p. 194. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

[lea1940-4] Armstrong, Lilias E. (1940). The Phonetic and Tonal Structure of Kikuyu. Rep. 1967. (Also in 2018 by Routledge).

[yy1981-5] 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.