The Kamusi Project: A Trilingual Etymological Dictionary Documenting the Arabic Imprint on the Swahili Lexicon
Mashrūʻ Qāmūsī - Kamusi: Qāmūs Ishtiqāqī Thulāthī al-Lughah li-Tawthīq al-Athar al-ʻArabī fī al-Muʻjam al-Sawāḥilī
مشروع قاموسي - Kamusi : قاموس اشتقاقي ثلاثي اللغة لتوثيق الأثر العربي في المعجم السواحِلي
Abstract
Despite general acknowledgement of the wide Arabic influence on the Swahili language, many modern lexicographical studies neglect the precise etymological dimension of Arabic words in Swahili and are at times affected by historical and political biases that diminish the extent of this shared linguistic heritage. The available Swahili dictionaries likewise lack an organised scholarly methodology allowing researchers and interested readers to trace Arabic roots accurately while preserving the morphological precision and original vocalisation of the words. This research presents the Kamusi project as an academic initiative to prepare an etymological dictionary setting out the wide influence of Arabic alongside the Bantu languages that gave rise to the Swahili language, in a trilingual form intended to serve both scholarly and general users.
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Romanization follows the ALA-LC Arabic table used by the Library of Congress and the British Library. The original Arabic is carried in the parallel MARC 880 fields, linked by subfield $6 — the standard treatment for non-English resources.
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=LDR 00000naa a2200000 a 4500 =001 MHF-MOMBASA2026-015 =003 OM-MaHAFIL =008 260905s2026 ke o 1 ara d =040 \\$aOM-MaHAFIL$beng$erda$cOM-MaHAFIL =041 0\$aara$beng =100 1\$6100-01$aRaḥbī, Muḥammad ibn ʻAbd Allāh ibn Saʻīd,$eauthor. =245 10$6245-02$aMashrūʻ Qāmūsī - Kamusi: Qāmūs Ishtiqāqī Thulāthī al-Lughah li-Tawthīq al-Athar al-ʻArabī fī al-Muʻjam al-Sawāḥilī /$cMuḥammad ibn ʻAbd Allāh ibn Saʻīd al-Raḥbī. =242 10$aThe Kamusi Project: A Trilingual Etymological Dictionary Documenting the Arabic Imprint on the Swahili Lexicon$yeng =264 \1$6264-03$aMumbāsā :$bJamʻīyat al-Istiqāmah al-Khayrīyah al-Islāmīyah al-ʻĀlamīyah,$c2026. =300 \\$a1 online resource. =336 \\$atext$btxt$2rdacontent =337 \\$acomputer$bc$2rdamedia =338 \\$aonline resource$bcr$2rdacarrier =500 \\$aPermanent citation identifier: MHF-MOMBASA2026-015. =500 \\$aConference theme (in Arabic): المحور الثالث: الأثر العربي في السواحلية. =520 3\$aDespite general acknowledgement of the wide Arabic influence on the Swahili language, many modern lexicographical studies neglect the precise etymological dimension of Arabic words in Swahili and are at times affected by historical and political biases that diminish the extent of this shared linguistic heritage. The available Swahili dictionaries likewise lack an organised scholarly methodology allowing researchers and interested readers to trace Arabic roots accurately while preserving the morphological precision and original vocalisation of the words. This research presents the Kamusi project as an academic initiative to prepare an etymological dictionary setting out the wide influence of Arabic alongside the Bantu languages that gave rise to the Swahili language, in a trilingual form intended to serve both scholarly and general users. =546 \\$aText in Arabic; title also romanized (ALA-LC); abstract and keywords in English. =653 \0$aEtymological dictionary =653 \0$aSwahili lexicon =653 \0$aArabic loanwords =653 \0$aLexicography =653 \0$aBantu languages =653 \0$aDigital humanities =711 2\$6711-04$aMuʼtamar al-Istiqāmah al-Duwalī al-Thānī: al-ʻUmānīyūn wa-al-Sawāḥilīyah bayna al-Taʼthīr wa-al-Taʼaththur$d(2026)$c(Mumbāsā) =773 0\$6773-05$tMuʼtamar al-Istiqāmah al-Duwalī al-Thānī: al-ʻUmānīyūn wa-al-Sawāḥilīyah bayna al-Taʼthīr wa-al-Taʼaththur$dMumbāsā : Jamʻīyat al-Istiqāmah al-Khayrīyah al-Islāmīyah al-ʻĀlamīyah, 2026$gpaper no. 15$wMHF-MOMBASA2026-015 =856 40$uhttp://app.mahafil.co/p/arch-mombasa-2026/15$yLanding page (Arabic) =856 40$uhttp://app.mahafil.co/p/arch-mombasa-2026/15/en$yLanding page (English) =880 1\$6100-01/(3/r$aالرحبي، محمد بن عبد الله بن سعيد،$eمؤلف. =880 10$6245-02/(3/r$aمشروع قاموسي - Kamusi : قاموس اشتقاقي ثلاثي اللغة لتوثيق الأثر العربي في المعجم السواحِلي /$cمحمد بن عبد الله بن سعيد الرحبي. =880 \1$6264-03/(3/r$aممباسا :$bجمعية الاستقامة الخيرية الإسلامية العالمية،$c2026. =880 2\$6711-04/(3/r$aمؤتمر الاستقامة الدولي الثاني: العُمانيون والسواحلية بين التأثير والتأثر =880 0\$6773-05/(3/r$tمؤتمر الاستقامة الدولي الثاني: العُمانيون والسواحلية بين التأثير والتأثر