Zimbabwe, n.

zimbabwe
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zimbabwe_n%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
Revised 2022

# Zimbabwenoun

## Earlier version

- Zimbabwe in OED Second Edition (1989)

## Factsheet

### What does the noun Zimbabwe mean?

There is one meaning in OED's entry for the noun Zimbabwe. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definition, usage, and quotation evidence.

### How is the noun Zimbabwe pronounced?

#### British English

/zɪmˈbɑːbweɪ/
zim-BAHB-way
/zɪmˈbabweɪ/
zim-BAB-way

#### U.S. English

/zɪmˈbɑbˌweɪ/
zim-BAHB-way
/zɪmˈbɑbwi/
zim-BAHB-wee

### Where does the noun Zimbabwe come from?

Earliest known use

1890s

The earliest known use of the noun Zimbabwe is in the 1890s.

OED's earliest evidence for Zimbabwe is from 1891, in Mr. Bent's Explor. in Mashonaland.

From a proper name.

Etymons: proper name Zimbabwe.

### Nearby entries

1. zilla, n. 1772–
2. -zilla, comb. form
3. zilladar, n. 1763–
4. Zil lane, n. 1985–
5. zilla parishad, n. 1957–
6. zillion, n. & adj. 1920–
7. zillionaire, n. 1926–
8. zillionth, n. & adj. 1940–
9. zimb, n. 1790–
10. Zimba, n. 1625–
11. Zimbabwe, n.1891–
12. Zimbabwean, adj. & n. 1961–
13. zimbel, n. 1888–
14. zimme, n. 1848–63
15. Zimmer, n. 1951–
16. zina, n. 1817–
17. zinc, n. 1651–
18. zinc, v. 1843–
19. zinc-air, adj. 1970–
20. Zincala, n. 1844–91
21. Zincalo, n. 1841–

## Etymology

### Summary

From a proper name.
Etymon: proper name Zimbabwe.
< Zimbabwe (now usually Great Zimbabwe), the name of a ruined city in Southern Africa; subsequently (within English) applied to similar archaeological monuments…
< Zimbabwe (now usually Great Zimbabwe), the name of a ruined city in Southern Africa; subsequently (within English) applied to similar archaeological monuments.

### Notes

Great Zimbabwe is located in the Masvingo province of the Republic of Zimbabwe; in the 13th-15th cent. it was the capital of a kingdom now referred to as the Kingdom of Zimbabwe.
The English name reflects a Shona place name of uncertain origin, but apparently < a phrase beginning with dzimba houses or zimba big house (both grammatical forms of imba house), perhaps dzimba dza-mabwe, lit. ‘houses of stones’ or zimba ra-mabwe, lit. ‘big house of stones’.
In European contexts the place name first appears in Portuguese (first half of the 16th cent. as Symbaoe); it is attested in English from at least the 17th cent. (1615 as Simbaoe, or earlier).
The Republic of Zimbabwe is named after the city (see Zimbabwean n.).

## Meaning & use

1. 1891–
   Any of the numerous ruined stone-walled settlements scattered across Zimbabwe and neighbouring countries and dating from medieval times.
   1. 1891

      > For centuries this circular building formed ‘the Zimbabwe’ or Royal kraal of those Kaffir Emperors, the Monomatapa.., which was once very powerful, but which was afterwards split..into many parts, each governed by separate chiefs with their own Zimbabwe or Royal kraal, so that the name is now oft recurring in Mashonaland.

      Mr. Bent's Explor. in Mashonaland 15 December in Times 14 January (1892) 8/1
   2. 1963

      > Other ‘Zimbabwes’—over 200 of them..—lie scattered all over Southern Rhodesia.

      R. Summers in E. Bacon, Vanished Civilisations iii. 36/2
   3. 2004

      > British archaeologists and colonizers in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries claimed that the monumental medieval stone zimbabwes were ‘Phoenician’.

      M. Given, Archaeol. of Colonized ix. 164
   archaeology
   1. hut circle 1830–
      (In upland regions of Britain and Ireland) a ring of stones or earth, or another circular feature in the terrain, interpreted as the site of a…
   2. pond-barrow 1845–
      A prehistoric burial place marked by a circular depression in the ground with a raised perimeter, rather than a mound.
   3. Zimbabwe 1891–
      Any of the numerous ruined stone-walled settlements scattered across Zimbabwe and neighbouring countries and dating from medieval times.
   4. ploshchadka 1913–
      A raised area or platform; spec. one formed of burnt clay from the debris of collapsed buildings, found in Neolithic sites in Ukraine.
   5. woodhenge 1927–
      (The remains of) a prehistoric monument consisting of a circular or elliptical timber structure (usually interpreted as a circle of large…
   6. henge 1932–
      Archaeology. In Britain and Ireland: a Neolithic ceremonial enclosure consisting of a circular ditch enclosed by a bank and typically having one…
   View in Historical Thesaurus

## Pronunciation

### British English

/zɪmˈbɑːbweɪ/
zim-BAHB-way
/zɪmˈbabweɪ/
zim-BAB-way
/zɪmˈbɑːbwi/
zim-BAHB-wee
/zɪmˈbabwi/
zim-BAB-wee

### U.S. English

/zɪmˈbɑbˌweɪ/
zim-BAHB-way
/zɪmˈbɑbwi/
zim-BAHB-wee

####

##### Consonants

- ppea
- ttea
- kkey
- bbuy
- ddye
- ɡguy
- tʃchore
- dʒjay
- ffore
- θthaw
- ssore
- ʃshore
- vvee
- ðthee
- zzee
- ʒbeige
- xloch
- hhay
- llay
- ɬrhingyll
- rray
- wway
- jyore
- mmay
- nnay
- ŋsing

Some consonants can take the function of the vowel in unstressed syllables. Where necessary, a syllabic marker diacritic is used, hence /ˈpɛtl/ but /ˈpɛtl̩i/.

##### Vowels

- iːfleece
- ihappy
- ɪkit
- ɛdress
- atrap, bath
- ɑːstart, palm, bath
- ɒlot
- ɔːthought, force
- ʌstrut
- ʊfoot
- uːgoose
- əletter
- əːnurse
- ɪənear
- ɛːsquare
- ʊəcure
- eɪface
- ʌɪpride
- aʊmouth
- əʊgoat
- ɔɪvoice
- ãgratin
- ɒ̃salon
- ᵻ(/ɪ/-/ə/)
- ᵿ(/ʊ/-/ə/)

##### Other symbols

- The symbol ˈ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with primary stress.
- The symbol ˌ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with secondary stress.
- Round brackets ( ) in a transcription indicate that the symbol within the brackets is optional.

View the pronunciation model here.

####

##### Consonants

- ppea
- ttea
- kkey
- bbuy
- ddye*
- ɡguy
- tʃchore
- dʒjay
- ffore
- θthaw
- ssore
- ʃshore
- vvee
- ðthee
- zzee
- ʒbeige
- xloch
- hhay
- llay
- rray
- wway
- jyore
- mmay
- nnay
- ŋsing

* /d/ also represents a 'tapped' /t/ as in

Some consonants can take the function of the vowel in unstressed syllables. Where necessary, a syllabic marker diacritic is used, hence /ˈpɛd(ə)l/ but /ˈpɛdl̩i/.

##### Vowels

- ifleece, happy
- ɪkit
- ɛdress
- ætrap, bath
- ɑlot, palm, cloth, thought
- ɑrstart
- ɔcloth, thought
- ɔrnorth, force
- ʊfoot
- ugoose
- əstrut, comma
- ərnurse, letter
- ɪ(ə)rnear
- ɛ(ə)rsquare
- ʊ(ə)rcure
- eɪface
- aɪpride
- aʊmouth
- oʊgoat
- ɔɪvoice
- ɑ̃gratin
- æ̃salon
- ᵻ(/ɪ/-/ə/)
- ᵿ(/ʊ/-/ə/)

##### Other symbols

- The symbol ˈ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with primary stress.
- The symbol ˌ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with secondary stress.
- Round brackets ( ) in a transcription indicate that the symbol within the brackets is optional.

View the pronunciation model here.

####

Simple text respell breaks words into syllables, separated by a hyphen. The syllable which carries the primary stress is written in capital letters. This key covers both British and U.S. English Simple Text Respell.

##### Consonants

b, d, f, h, k, l, m, n, p, r, s, t, v, w and z have their standard English values

- gguy
- jjay
- yyore
- chchore
- khloch
- shshore
- ththaw
- dhthee
- zhbeige

##### Vowels

- atrap
- ahpalm
- airsquare
- arstart
- arrcarry (British only)
- awthought
- ayface
- a(ng)gratin
- edress
- eefleece
- eerdeer
- errmerry
- ikit
- ighpride
- irrmirror
- olot (British only)
- ohgoat
- oogoose
- oorcure
- orforce
- orrsorry (British only)
- owmouth
- oyvoice
- o(ng)salon
- ustrut
- uhletter
- urnurse
- urrhurry
- uufoot

## Forms

### Variant forms

Also with lower-case initial.

Zimbabwe, n. was revised in June 2022.

Zimbabwe, n. was last modified in September 2024.