bongo
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bongo¹
- /ˈɓɔ.ᵑɡɔ/
Where it comes from
Inherited from Proto-Bantu *bʊ̀jòngó. (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “or *bòngó? See variant 274 of BLR entry 3571. We should add the variant to the PB page”)
noun mabongo
- brain
- brains (mental faculties)
Bongo²
- /ˈɓɔ.ᵑɡɔ/
Where it comes from
Derived from bongo (“brain”). Referring to the difficult conditions during the economic crisis of the 1980s which required one's own wits (having "big brains") to survive working in Dar es Salaam, later extended to all of Tanzania.
proper noun
- nickname for Dar es Salaam: the largest city in Tanzania.
- nickname for Tanzania: a country in East Africa.
In English
- brain intelligent person
Talk about this word "bongo." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/sw/bongo. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. bongo. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/sw/bongo "bongo." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/sw/bongo.Cite this
@misc{bongo_2026,
title = {bongo},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/sw/bongo},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
