indaba

English

WOTD – 21 May 2021

Etymology

Borrowed from Zulu índaba (“affair, issue, matter; piece of news; story”), from ín- (class 9 noun prefix) + -daɓa (stem meaning ‘affair, matter’).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɪnˈdɑːbə/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ɪnˈdɑbə/
• Hyphenation: in‧da‧ba

Noun

indaba (plural indabas)

1. (South Africa)
   1. A tribal conference held by Nguni leaders.
   2. (by extension) Any conference, discussion, or meeting.
   3. Chiefly in one's own or someone's indaba: a concern, matter, or problem. (Can we add an example for this sense?)
2. (by extension, scouting) An international conference of Scout leaders.

Translations

tribal conference held by Nguni leaders

• Spanish: indaba (es)

(South Africa) any conference, discussion, or meeting

(South Africa) concern, matter, or problem

• Southern Ndebele: índaba
• Xhosa: índaba class 9
• Zulu: índaba (zu) class 9

international conference of Scout leaders

Further reading

• indaba on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• “indaba”, in Collins English Dictionary.
• “indaba, n.”, in Dictionary of South African English, Makhanda, Eastern Cape: Dictionary Unit for South African English, 1996–2025.
• “indaba”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.

Anagrams

• badian, Ibadan, Badian

Basque

Etymology

Blend of India +‎ baba. Compare the dialectal form indibaba.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /indaba/, [ĩn̪.d̪a.β̞a]

Noun

indaba inan

1. bean, green bean

Declension

Declension of indaba (inanimate, ending in -a)

	indefinite	singular	plural
absolutive	indaba	indaba	indabak
ergative	indabak	indabak	indabek
dative	indabari	indabari	indabei
genitive	indabaren	indabaren	indaben
comitative	indabarekin	indabarekin	indabekin
causative	indabarengatik	indabarengatik	indabengatik
benefactive	indabarentzat	indabarentzat	indabentzat
instrumental	indabaz	indabaz	indabez
inessive	indabatan	indaban	indabetan
locative	indabatako	indabako	indabetako
allative	indabatara	indabara	indabetara
terminative	indabataraino	indabaraino	indabetaraino
directive	indabatarantz	indabarantz	indabetarantz
destinative	indabatarako	indabarako	indabetarako
ablative	indabatatik	indabatik	indabetatik
partitive	indabarik	—	—
prolative	indabatzat	—	—

Further reading

• “indaba”, in Euskaltzaindiaren Hiztegia [Dictionary of the Basque Academy] (in Basque), Euskaltzaindia [Royal Academy of the Basque Language]
• “indaba”, in Orotariko Euskal Hiztegia [General Basque Dictionary], Euskaltzaindia, 1987–2005

Southern Ndebele

Noun

índaba class 9 (plural iíndaba class 10)

1. matter, issue

Inflection

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

Xhosa

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [íⁿd̥a̤ːɓa]

Noun

índaba class 9 (plural iíndaba class 10)

1. matter
2. piece of news

Inflection

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

Zulu

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /índaːɓa/

Noun

índaba class 9 (plural izíndaba class 10)

1. matter, issue, affair
2. piece of news
3. story

   Synonym: inganekwane

Inflection

Class 9/10 (locative endabeni)

	singular		plural
full form	indaba		izindaba
simple form	ndaba		zindaba
locative	endabeni		ezindabeni
copulative	yindaba		yizindaba
Possessive forms
	singular		plural
	modifier	substantive	modifier	substantive
class 1	wendaba	owendaba	wezindaba	owezindaba
class 2	bendaba	abendaba	bezindaba	abezindaba
class 3	wendaba	owendaba	wezindaba	owezindaba
class 4	yendaba	eyendaba	yezindaba	eyezindaba
class 5	lendaba	elendaba	lezindaba	elezindaba
class 6	endaba	awendaba	ezindaba	awezindaba
class 7	sendaba	esendaba	sezindaba	esezindaba
class 8	zendaba	ezendaba	zezindaba	ezezindaba
class 9	yendaba	eyendaba	yezindaba	eyezindaba
class 10	zendaba	ezendaba	zezindaba	ezezindaba
class 11	lwendaba	olwendaba	lwezindaba	olwezindaba
class 14	bendaba	obendaba	bezindaba	obezindaba
class 15	kwendaba	okwendaba	kwezindaba	okwezindaba
class 17	kwendaba	okwendaba	kwezindaba	okwezindaba

Related terms

• udaba

References

• C. M. Doke, B. W. Vilakazi (1972) “-daɓa”, in Zulu-English Dictionary, →ISBN: “-daɓa (2.9.9)”