-irũ

See also: Appendix:Variations of "iru"

Kikuyu

Etymology

Hinde (1904) records -iru as an equivalent of English black in “Jogowini dialect” of Kikuyu, listing also “Ulu dialect” (spoken then from Machakos to coastal area) of Kamba -ziu and “Nganyawa dialect” (spoken then in Kitui District) of Kamba -wiu as its equivalents.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ìɾóꜜ/

As for Tonal Class, Benson (1964) classifies this term into Class 3 with a disyllabic stem, together with kĩhaato, mbembe, kiugo, and so on.

Adjective

-irũ

1. black
2. dark-colored

Inflection

agreement of -irũ

	Singular	Plural
Class 1, Class 2	mũirũ	airũ
Class 3, Class 4	mũirũ	mĩirũ
Class 5, Class 6	rĩirũ	mairũ
Class 7, Class 8	kĩirũ	njirũ
Class 9, Class 10	njirũ	njirũ
Class 11, Class 10	rũirũ	njirũ
Class 12, Class 13	kairũ	tũirũ
Class 14, Class 6	mũirũ	mairũ
Class 15, Class 6	kũirũ	mairũ
Class 16	hairũ	-

Derived terms

(Nouns)

• mũirũ class 3
• ũirũ class 14
• mũtĩ-mũirũ class 3

Related terms

(Verbs)

• kũira

References

• “-irũ” in Benson, T.G. (1964). Kikuyu-English dictionary, p. 190. Oxford: Clarendon Press.