mũnyaka

Kikuyu

Etymology

Cf. Maasai a-munyak (“to be lucky, to be favoured”).[1]

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /mòɲàkáꜜ/
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.[2] Benson (1964) classifies this term into Class 3 with a disyllabic stem, together with kĩhaato, mbembe, kiugo, and so on.

Noun

mũnyaka class 3 (plural mĩnyaka)

  1. luck[2][1]
    Antonym: mũtino
  2. copper[1]
    gĩcango kĩa mũnyaka ― stout copper wire[1]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 “mũnyaka” in Benson, T.G. (1964). Kikuyu-English dictionary, p. 340. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Armstrong, Lilias E. (1940). The Phonetic and Tonal Structure of Kikuyu. Rep. 1967. (Also in 2018 by Routledge).
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