msala

Swahili

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

  • Audio (Kenya):(file)

Etymology 1

From Arabic مُصَلَّى (muṣallā, “place of prayer”).[1]

Noun

msala class III (plural misala class IV)

  1. (Islam) prayer mat
  2. (by extension) any mat

Etymology 2

Mostly treated as identical with etymology 1. The sense can be derived without difficulty from situations where someone retreats to a private chamber for prayer, and particularly from the ablutions necessary beforehand.

Sergio Baldi instead connects it tentatively with Arabic زَلاقة (zalāqa, “slipperiness”),[2] but this seems less likely.

Noun

msala class III (plural misala class IV)

  1. private chamber, retreat
    Synonym: faragha
  2. (especially) bathroom, toilet
    Synonym: bafu

References

  1. ^ Zawawi, Sharifa M. (1979) Loan words and their effect on the classification of Swahili nominals‎[1], Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, page 45
  2. ^ Baldi, Sergio (30 November 2020) Dictionary of Arabic Loanwords in the Languages of Central and East Africa (Handbuch der Orientalistik; Erste Abteilung: Der Nahe und der Mittlere Osten; 145), Leiden • Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 132 Nr. 1182
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