Kikuyu

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From the verb kũhũma.[1]

Pronunciation

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The first ũ of the stem is pronounced long.[1]
As for Tonal Class, Benson (1964) classifies this term into Class 9 with a disyllabic stem, together with gĩcũhĩ, njũi, and so on.
  • (Kiambu)
  • (Limuru) IPA(key): /mòhòːmó/
As for Tonal Class, Yukawa (1981) classifies this term into a group including hiti, icembe, igoko (pl. magoko), ihĩtia (pl. mahĩtia), itumbĩ (pl. matumbĩ), kĩeha, kĩng'ang'i, mũhikania, mũkanda, mbica, nduka, ngingo, ngũkũ, rũthanju, tombo, and so on.[2]
  • (Ndia) IPA(key): /mòhòːmǒ/
The same underlying pattern as that of kĩboko.[3]

Noun

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mũhũmũ class 3 (plural mĩhũmũ)

  1. (chiefly in plural) respiration[1]
  2. (chiefly in plural) deep-breathing[1]
  3. (chiefly in plural) panting[1]

References

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  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 “(mũ-)hũmũ” in Benson, T.G. (1964). Kikuyu-English dictionary, p. 176. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ Kagaya, Ryohei (1982). "Tonal Analysis of Kikuyu Nouns in Three Dialects: Murang'a, Nyeri and Ndia." In Journal of Asian and African Studies, No. 24, 1–42.