sambaza

English

Etymology 1

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

Noun

sambaza (countable and uncountable, plural sambazas)

1. (East Africa) The Lake Tanganyika sardine, Limnothrissa miodon.
   • 2013 November 1, “Rwandans dig deeper into their pockets to eat dear fish”, in The EastAfrican‎^[1], archived from the original on 2022-12-17:

     A kilogramme of Tanganyika sardines (sambaza) that used to cost Rwf4,000 mid this year has shot to Rwf6,000. Sambaza is widely consumed fish species in Rwanda both by low-income earners and upper classes.

   • 2017 July 16, Emma Love, “Snap up a silvery delicacy from Lake Kivu, Rwanda”, in The Guardian‎^[2], archived from the original on 2020-11-09:

     Sambaza are thought to have been introduced to Kivu (the 2,700 sq km lake on Rwanda's eastern border with the Democratic Republic of the Congo) in the 1950s from Lake Tanganyika further south, and, despite their reputation as a delicacy, stocks have remained mostly consistent ever since.

   • 2018 November 30, Shannon Sims, “Rwandan Women Paddle Into the Male World of Fishing”, in The New York Times‎^[3], archived from the original on 2022-12-14:

     Sold dry sambaza go for a higher price than they do fresh. And in Eastern Rwanda, they form a central part of the edible economy; almost every dish in the restaurants along the lush banks of Lake Kivu incorporates sambaza, but perhaps most tastily as the crispy fried accompaniment to a sunset beer.

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Swahili sambaza (“to disperse, scatter”), popularized by Sambaza, a credit sharing service developed by Kenyan mobile network operator Safaricom in 2005.

Verb

sambaza (third-person singular simple present sambazas, present participle sambazaing, simple past and past participle sambazaed)

1. (East Africa, slang) To send credit using the Sambaza system; (generally) to send or share something.
   • 2021 October 5, Grace Waruguru, “How to sambaza Safaricom bundles easily: Step-by-step guide”, in Tuko‎^[4], archived from the original on 3 July 2022:

     They say that sharing is caring, and Safaricom users have wondered how to sambaza Safaricom bundles from one device to another.

   • 2022 July 8, Kenn Abuya, “Kenya Power Set to Introduce Sambaza Tokens”, in Techweez‎^[5], archived from the original on 2022-10-24:

     What would you do if you were able to share Kenya Power tokens with friends or family, just in the same manner you Sambaza data bundles or airtime?

References

• “sambaza”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.

Swahili

Pronunciation

• Audio (Kenya):

  (file)

Verb

-sambaza (infinitive kusambaza)

1. Causative form of -sambaa: to distribute

Conjugation

Conjugation of -sambaza
Positive present -nasambaza Subjunctive -sambaze Negative -sambazi Imperative singular sambaza
Infinitives
Positive kusambaza Negative kutosambaza
Imperatives
Singular sambaza Plural sambazeni
Tensed forms
Habitual husambaza Positive past positive subject concord + -lisambaza Negative past negative subject concord + -kusambaza
Positive present (positive subject concord + -nasambaza) Singular Plural 1st person ninasambaza/nasambaza tunasambaza 2nd person unasambaza mnasambaza 3rd person m-wa(I/II) anasambaza wanasambaza other classes positive subject concord + -nasambaza
Negative present (negative subject concord + -sambazi) Singular Plural 1st person sisambazi hatusambazi 2nd person husambazi hamsambazi 3rd person m-wa(I/II) hasambazi hawasambazi other classes negative subject concord + -sambazi
Positive future positive subject concord + -tasambaza Negative future negative subject concord + -tasambaza
Positive subjunctive (positive subject concord + -sambaze) Singular Plural 1st person nisambaze tusambaze 2nd person usambaze msambaze 3rd person m-wa(I/II) asambaze wasambaze other classes positive subject concord + -sambaze
Negative subjunctive positive subject concord + -sisambaze Positive present conditional positive subject concord + -ngesambaza Negative present conditional positive subject concord + -singesambaza Positive past conditional positive subject concord + -ngalisambaza Negative past conditional positive subject concord + -singalisambaza
Gnomic (positive subject concord + -asambaza) Singular Plural 1st person nasambaza twasambaza 2nd person wasambaza mwasambaza 3rd person m-wa(I/II) asambaza wasambaza m-mi(III/IV) wasambaza yasambaza ji-ma(V/VI) lasambaza yasambaza ki-vi(VII/VIII) chasambaza vyasambaza n(IX/X) yasambaza zasambaza u(XI) wasambaza see n(X) or ma(VI) class ku(XV/XVII) kwasambaza pa(XVI) pasambaza mu(XVIII) mwasambaza
Perfect positive subject concord + -mesambaza "Already" positive subject concord + -meshasambaza "Not yet" negative subject concord + -jasambaza "If/When" positive subject concord + -kisambaza "If not" positive subject concord + -siposambaza Consecutive kasambaza / positive subject concord + -kasambaza Consecutive subjunctive positive subject concord + -kasambaze
Object concord (indicative positive) Singular Plural 1st person -nisambaza -tusambaza 2nd person -kusambaza -wasambaza/-kusambazeni/-wasambazeni 3rd person m-wa(I/II) -msambaza -wasambaza m-mi(III/IV) -usambaza -isambaza ji-ma(V/VI) -lisambaza -yasambaza ki-vi(VII/VIII) -kisambaza -visambaza n(IX/X) -isambaza -zisambaza u(XI) -usambaza see n(X) or ma(VI) class ku(XV/XVII) -kusambaza pa(XVI) -pasambaza mu(XVIII) -musambaza Reflexive -jisambaza
Relative forms General positive (positive subject concord + (object concord) + -sambaza- + relative marker) Singular Plural m-wa(I/II) -sambazaye -sambazao m-mi(III/IV) -sambazao -sambazayo ji-ma(V/VI) -sambazalo -sambazayo ki-vi(VII/VIII) -sambazacho -sambazavyo n(IX/X) -sambazayo -sambazazo u(XI) -sambazao see n(X) or ma(VI) class ku(XV/XVII) -sambazako pa(XVI) -sambazapo mu(XVIII) -sambazamo Other forms (subject concord + tense marker + relative marker + (object concord) + -sambaza) Singular Plural m-wa(I/II) -yesambaza -osambaza m-mi(III/IV) -osambaza -yosambaza ji-ma(V/VI) -losambaza -yosambaza ki-vi(VII/VIII) -chosambaza -vyosambaza n(IX/X) -yosambaza -zosambaza u(XI) -osambaza see n(X) or ma(VI) class ku(XV/XVII) -kosambaza pa(XVI) -posambaza mu(XVIII) -mosambaza
Some forms not commonly seen in modern Standard Swahili are absent from the table. See Appendix:Swahili verbs for more information.

Derived terms

• Nominal derivations:
  • usambazaji (“distribution, dissemination”)