gĩcicio

Kikuyu

FWOTD – 9 August 2020

Alternative forms

• gĩciicio

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɣeɕiːɕiɔ/

The first i is pronounced long.^[1]

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

• (Kiambu) According to Yukawa (1981:101; 1985:194,198,200,202):

(in isolation) IPA^(key): [ɣèɕììɕíɔ́]

(before gĩĩkĩ (“this”))

(Limuru) IPA^(key): [ɣèɕìíɕìɔ̀ ɣééké]

(before gĩakwa (“my”))

(Limuru) IPA^(key): [ɣèɕìíɕìɔ̀ ɣéákóá]

(Nairobi) IPA^(key): [ɣèɕííɕìɔ̀ ɣéákóá]

(before nĩ)

(Limuru) IPA^(key): [ɣèɕìíɕìɔ̀ né]

(after nĩ) IPA^(key): [né ɣéɕììɕíɔ́]

(after ti) IPA^(key): [tí ɣéɕíìɕìɔ̀]

(after kũhe (“to give”))

(Nairobi) IPA^(key): [kòhɛ̀ ɣéɕììɕíɔ́]

Yukawa (1981) classified this term into a group including kĩohe, njege, rĩĩtwa, icungwa, igongona,^[2] which Yukawa (1985) incorporates into another group including mũthũ, mũcibi, gĩkabũ (pl. ikabũ), njata, mũthee, ihũa (pl. mahũa), ithanwa, kang'aurũ, mwatũka, ndarathini (“a certain kind of fruit”), Gĩgĩkũyũ, and so on.^[3]

Noun

gĩcicio class 7 (plural icicio)

1. mirror^[1][4]
2. pane (for windows, doors, etc.)^[4]
3. (in the plural) eyeglasses^[1]

   Synonym: macicio

See also

• ngirathi

References

1. “gĩcicio” in Benson, T.G. (1964). Kikuyu-English dictionary, p. 58. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
2. Yukawa, Yasutoshi (1981). "A Tentative Tonal Analysis of Kikuyu Nouns: A Study of Limuru Dialect." In Journal of Asian and African Studies, No. 22, 75–123.
3. Yukawa, Yasutoshi (1985). "A Second Tentative Tonal Analysis of Kikuyu Nouns." In Journal of Asian and African Studies, No. 29, 190–231.
4. Njagi, James Kinyua. (2016). Lexical Borrowing and Semantic Change: A Case of English and Gĩkũyũ Contact, p. 41.