English
karamu
Karamu comes from Swahili karamu ‘feast, banquet’, and goes back to Arabic كَرَم ‘bounty, generosity’.
- Arabicc. 500–presentكَرَمkaram‘bounty, generosity’
- Swahilimodernkaramu‘feast, banquet’
- Englishearliest quotation 1983same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Arabicc. 500–presentكَرَمkaram‘bounty, generosity’
- Swahilimodernkaramu‘feast, banquet’
- Englishearliest quotation 1983same form
Earliest quotation: 1983, Lionel Richie, All Night Long: “We're going to party, karamu, fiesta, forever”.
Every English word from Arabic كَرَم
Another origin of karamu
- Māorimodernkaramū
- Englishtodaykaramu
Today it means
noun The feast eaten as part of Kwanzaa celebrations.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Arabic كَرَم / karamu