ũbuthu

Kikuyu

Etymology

From kũbutha (“to be rotten”).^[1]

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /òβùðǔ/

As for Tonal Class, Benson (1964) classifies this term into Class 2 with a disyllabic stem, together with kĩgunyũ, njagĩ, kiugũ, and so on.

(Kiambu)

(Limuru) As for Tonal Class, Yukawa (1981) classifies this term into a group including gĩkwa (pl. ikwa), ithangũ (pl. mathangũ), kiugũ, kĩboko, kĩgunyũ, kĩnya, kĩroboto, kĩrũũmi, mbogo, mũcinga, mũgate, mũhaka, mũrangi, mũrũthi, ndaraca, ndirica, njohi, nyũmba, thĩ, and so on.^[2]

Noun

ũbuthu class 14 (plural mobuthu)

rottenness, rot, decay

References

^ “ũbuthu” in Benson, T.G. (1964). Kikuyu-English dictionary, p. 37. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
^ 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.