Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Used as a form of respectful address in parts of Africa.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun slang Big boss, important person. Not always used as a favorable term.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Swahili, from Arabic ’abūnā, our father : ’abū, bound form of ’ab, father; see ℵb in Semitic roots + -nā, our.]

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Examples

  • "Formerly [in the Congo Free State] an ordinary white man was merely called 'bwana' or 'Mzunga'; now the merest insect of a pale face earns the title of 'bwana Mkubwa' [big master]."

    The Negro 1915

  • Sponsor: Try SquareSpace free for 14 days, use the code "bwana" to save 10\% on the life of the account

    recent posts - blip.tv (beta) 2009

  • Today at 16: 59.20 (1 hour ago) umno must have got the inspiration for "ketuanan" from the Swahili term 'bwana' meaning

    Planet Malaysia 2009

  • \par "Geez, this is worse than the jungle drums in those old 'bwana' vids," Becker complained.

    Massage 2010

  • "Call me bwana," he laughed, boat shoes slapping the concrete path.

    White People Problems (part 1) Thomas Pluck 2011

  • I was assured by a man ducking next to me, They do not want your life, bwana.

    An Interview with Paul Theroux 2010

  • Me - ‘err ok – you da bwana …’ all true … my ancestors were right, ‘white man speaks with forked tongue …’ on March 18, 2010 at 9: 19 pm Bob

    “Response Times” Are Back SHOCK! « POLICE INSPECTOR BLOG Inspector Gadget 2010

  • Please proceed to the main salon where bwana is waiting to greet you.

    Blood Lite II: Overbite Kevin J. Anderson 2010

  • All these words were as foreign to me as, say, gesundheit, roti canai, bwana, merde or halal.

    Archive 2008-08-01 Glenda Larke 2008

  • All these words were as foreign to me as, say, gesundheit, roti canai, bwana, merde or halal.

    Alien words in our prose Glenda Larke 2008

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