swäˈhēlē, -li noun
( plural swahili or swahilis )
Usage: usually capitalized
Etymology: Arabic sawāḥil (plural of sāḥil coast) + -īy belonging to
1.
a. : a Bantu-speaking people of Zanzibar and the adjacent coast
b. : a member of such people
2. : a Bantu language of East Africa spoken originally in Zanzibar and the adjacent coast that is a trade and governmental language over much of East Africa and in the Congo — see kingwana