Somali

UK /səˈmɑːli/ · US /soʊˈmɑːli/ proper noun, noun, adjective

Forms Somalis

1. proper noun (uncountable) A Cushitic language spoken mainly in Somalia, eastern Ethiopia, Djibouti, and eastern Kenya. “Somali is the primary language of Somalia”
2. proper noun (uncountable) Somali language and literature as an object of study. “I'm learning Somali.”
3. noun (chiefly countable, collective) An ethnic group native to the Somali Peninsula; a Somali, a group of Somalis, the Somalis. “Historically, Somalis were a nomadic people herding camels, goats, and sheep. Nowadays, many if not most Somalis are urbanized people.”
4. noun (chiefly uncountable, collective and in the plural) The Somali ethnic group as a whole; the Somali. “The Somali are an ethnic group of Cushitic origin indigenous to the Somali Peninsula. Their language is called Somali.”
5. noun (countable, collective) A citizen or resident from the country of Somalia.
6. noun (countable, collective) A person from a Somali-majority republic, state, or region, including but not limited to: the Republic of Somaliland, the Somali region of Ethiopia (often called the Ogaden, but more neutrally the Somali region), or autonomous states within Somalia's federal system such as Puntland.
7. noun A domestic cat breed derived from the Abyssinian cat.
8. adjective Of, from, or pertaining to Somalia, the Somali people or language.

Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “Somali”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details