What does Swahili literally mean?
What does Swahili literally mean? Origin of Swahili 1. First recorded in 1810–15; from Swahili, from Arabic sawa?iliy “of or pertaining to the coast,” equivalent to sawa?il, plural of sa?il “coast” + -iy adjective and noun suffix.
Why is Swahili called Swahili?
Swahili has been greatly influenced by Arabic; there are an enormous number of Arabic loanwords in the language, including the word swahili, from Arabic sawa?ili (a plural adjectival form of an Arabic word meaning ?of the coast?).