English
inkosi
Inkosi comes from Zulu ínkôsi ‘chief, king’, and goes back to Proto-Bantu *nkócì.
- Proto-Bantuprehistoric (reconstructed)*nkócìreconstructed
- Zulumodernínkôsi‘chief, king’
- Englishearliest quotation 1956inkosi
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Bantuprehistoric (reconstructed)*nkócìreconstructed
- Zulumodernínkôsi‘chief, king’
- Englishearliest quotation 1956inkosi
Earliest quotation: 1956, Margaret Read, The Ngoni of Nyasaland: “Before leaving his house to go to the kraal…”
Every English word from Proto-Bantu *nkócì
Today it means
noun A chief (particularly Zulu).
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Bantu *nkócì / inkosi