Somali

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Somali

  • /səˈmɑːli/ UK
  • /soʊˈmɑːli/ US
  • /səˈmɑːli/ US

Where it comes from

From or akin to Somali Soomaali.

proper noun

  1. uncountable A Cushitic language spoken mainly in Somalia, eastern Ethiopia, Djibouti, and eastern Kenya. Somali is the primary language of Somalia
  2. uncountable Somali language and literature as an object of study. I'm learning Somali.

noun Somali · Somalis

  1. collective, countable An ethnic group native to the Somali Peninsula; a Somali, a group of Somalis, the Somalis. Historically, Somalis were a nomadic people herding camels, goats, and sheep. Nowadays, many if not most Somalis are urbanized people.
  2. collective, in plural, uncountable The Somali ethnic group as a whole; the Somali. The Somali are an ethnic group of Cushitic origin indigenous to the Somali Peninsula. Their language is called Somali.
  3. collective, countable A citizen or resident from the country of Somalia.
  4. collective, countable A person from a Somali-majority republic, state, or region, including but not limited to: the Republic of Somaliland, the Somali region of Ethiopia (often called the Ogaden, but more neutrally the Somali region), or autonomous states within Somalia's federal system such as Puntland.
  5. countable, uncountable A domestic cat breed derived from the Abyssinian cat.

    Similar: fox cat, long-haired Abyssinian

Similar: bulbhead, Mali, Skinnie, Somalian, Somali, Somalicoon, Zoomalian

adjective

  1. not comparable Of, from, or pertaining to Somalia, the Somali people or language.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: somalian, somaliland, somalia, african, mogadishu, sna, tpg, somal, sidama, oromo, afar, chimwiini, darood, sidamic, baiso, cushite

Translations

Every language

noun a language

Españolsomalí
한국어소말리어 somallieo
日本語ソマリア語 Somaria-go, ソマリ語 Somari-go
中文索馬里語 /索马里语 Suǒmǎlǐ-yǔ, 索馬利亞語 /索马利亚语
हिन्दीसोमाली somālī
KiswahiliKisomali
Portuguêssomali
Françaissomali
DeutschSomali, Somalisch
Ελληνικάσομαλικά somaliká
Românăsomaleză, somali
Русскийсомали́йский somalíjskij
العربيةصُومَالِيَّة ṣomāliyya

noun a person from Somalia or of Somali descent

Españolsomalí
中文索馬里人 Suǒmǎlǐ-rén
हिन्दीसुमाली sumālī
KiswahiliMsomali
Portuguêssomali, somaliano
FrançaisSomalien, Somalienne
DeutschSomali, Somalier, Somalierin
ΕλληνικάΣομαλός Somalós, Σομαλή Somalí
Românăsomalez, somaleză
Русскийсомали́ец somalíjec, сомали́йка somalíjka
العربيةصُومَالِيّ ṣomāliyy, صُومَالِيَّة ṣomāliyya

adj pertaining to Somalia

Españolsomalí
中文索馬里的 Suǒmǎlǐ-de
KiswahiliKisomali
Portuguêssomali, somaliano
Françaissomalien
Deutschsomalisch
Ελληνικάσομαλικός somalikós
Românăsomalez
Русскийсомали́йский somalíjskij
العربيةصُومَالِيّ ṣomāliyy

Talk about this word

Cite this
MLA

"Somali." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/somali. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

Somali. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/somali

Chicago

"Somali." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/somali.

BibTeX
@misc{somali_2026,
  title = {Somali},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/somali},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}