njogu

From Proto-Bantu *njògù. Hinde (1904) records njogu as an equivalent of English elephant in “Jogowini dialect” of Kikuyu, listing also Kamba unzōō and Swahili ndovu etc. as its equivalents.^[1]

• IPA^(key): /ᶮdʑɔ̀ɣù(ꜜ)/

As for Tonal Class, Armstrong (1940) classifies this term into moondo class which includes mũndũ, huko, igego, igoti, inooro, irigũ, irũa, kĩbaata, kĩmũrĩ, kũgũrũ, mũciĩ, mũgeni, mũri, mwaki (“fire”), ndaka, ndigiri, njagathi, Mũrĩmi (“man's name”), etc.^[2] Benson (1964) classifies this term into Class 1 with a disyllabic stem, together with ndaka, and so on.

• (Kiambu)
  • (Limuru) As for Tonal Class, Yukawa (1981) classifies this term into a group including cindano, huko, iburi, igego, igoti, ini (pl. mani), inooro, irigũ, irũa, iturubarĩ (pl. maturubarĩ), kĩbaata, kĩmũrĩ, kũgũrũ, mũciĩ, mũgeni, mũgũrũki, mũmbirarũ, mũndũ, mũri, mũthuuri, mwaki (“fire”), mwario (“way of speaking”), mbogoro, nda, ndaka, ndigiri, ngo, njagathi, nyondo (“breast(s)”), and so on.^[3]

njogu class 9/10 (plural njogu)

1. elephant

(Proverbs)

• gũtirĩ ũndũ njogu
• njogu ndĩremagwo nĩ mũguongo wayo

• “njogu” in Benson, T.G. (1964). Kikuyu-English dictionary. Oxford: Clarendon Press.