ekigambo; (news) amagambo, ebifa; (order) ekiragiro; (promise) okulagaana.

a bigambo bingi.

put in one's word when it is not appropriate, intrude in a conversation.

etc. ne bitubulira ku matama, and we were at a loss for something to say, lit. they (ebigambo, words, implied) disappeared from our cheeks.

be lacking, lack; be at a loss for; lose. Yabulwa eky' okuddamu. He was at a loss for an answer. Nnali siyinza kubulwa ddoboozi lye. I could not be mistaken about/fail to recognize his voice. Bwe yamunoonya n'abulwa n' agenda. When he looked for him without success (lit. and he was missing) he went away. Omuntu bw'abulwa by'ayogera anuuna ne ku vvu. (prov.) When a person is at a loss for words he even sucks on ashes. (This is said of a person who talks for the sake of talking).

o- (bu/-) a very broad concept implying the possession of courtesy, compassion, good breeding, culture, etc. The editorial writers o/Munno have in the past dedicated considerable space to the definition of the word. cf. obuntu, omuntu bulamu.

olugero.

okulonda, okusiima; (pick out) okulondamu, okweroboza, okwebonanya; c. from, okwawulula; c. one's words, okuwoomesa emboozi.

I have failed, kinnemye; (in exam.) okugwa. f. of one's word, okujwaŋŋanya. f. to score, okukubo busu. f. to obtain, okusubwa.

e- (li/ma) bad word; dirty word, amagambo ag'olumottole, indiscreet words. The grammatical plural amagambo (q.v.) does not have the augm. or pej. meaning of the singular, cf. gamba, ekigambo, amagambo.

Prol. Eve. Adamu ne Kaawa, Adam and Eve. (The Catholic word for Eve is Eva.)

a- (ka/bu) small word, akagambo akayunzi, gramm. conjunction, cf. gamba, ekigambo.

Ssewanaku, Nnyinibulamu, Nnyiniggulu, Liisoddene.

a- lit. one (little thing, akantu is implied). The phrase n'akamu is used with neg. verbs and is translated not at all. ebigambo ebitasanyusa n'akamu, words which are not pleasing at all. cf. ^-mu.

a- also akamunyi (ka/bu or la) kind of hawk, yellow-billed African kite. Ebikolimo bya wankoko tebitta kamunye. (prov.) The curses of Mr. Fowl do not kill the kite. Mere words are useless unless they can be backed up with force.

a- (ka/bu) mouth, kamwa koogera or nze kamwa koogera, I the speaker, I myself, kuta kamwa, to be quarrelsome. Mba sinnaggya bigambo mu kamwa emmotoka n'egwa. I hardly got the words out of my mouth when the car turned over. Tonjasa- miza akamwa! Shut up! (See yasama.) cf. omumwa.

a- (ka/bu) crossword puzzle. cf. sisinkana.

a- (ka/bu) dim. o/^omuzigo, butter, q.v. kusiiga kazigo ku maaso, to lie using soothing/jdeasing words, to sweet-talk, lit. to rub butter on the face, kiiha akalimu akazigo, to be rude/insolent.

e- (ki/bi) word; saying; matter, affair. Si kigambo. It doesn't matter, cf. gamba, akagambo, amagambo.

e- (ki/bi) obscenity, ekigambo eky'ekiko, an indecent/obscene word. cf. ebiko, ekko.

e- (ki/bi) sheath for a sword or dagger; shoe, boot.

e- (ki/bi) sword.

e- also ekleziya, ekkereziya (n/n) [from Lat. ecclesia] a Roman Catholic church, eklezia enkulu, cathedral. The initial e- is sometimes treated as part of the word, sometimes as the l.V. (initial vowel J. The spelling klezia is in violation of the rules of the orthography but is in common use.

o- indef. interrog. ordinal which in relative order? which ‘oneth?' (a word which unfortunately does not exist in English). ekitabo eky'okumeka? which book? The appropriate reply would contain an ordinal such as first, third, etc. cf. -meka.

to puff on/smoke a pipe, kukuumuula lumonde, to eat sweet potatoes, kukuumuula magambo, to pour out a torrent of loud and offensive words. Saalina ankuumuulira gu- bindi. I had no one wishing me bad luck, lit. puffing at a big, ugly pipe for me. cf. -kuumuufu.

kyamisa (-kyamisizza) v.tr. caus. 1 & 2 cause to turn; cause to err, mislead; make crooked/bent, okukyamya ekigambo, to distort the meaning or pronunciation of a word.

e- (ki/bi) basin in which a baby is washed. It was originally madeaf clay hat the word is now also applied to metal basins.

-radde) v.i. be or become calm/fc>eaceful/settled. Eradde? lit. Is it calm/f>eaceful? The meaning is lost and the word is used as the first of a series of greetings, equivalent to How are you? The reply may be Maamu! Maamu, mirembe! etc. cf. mulaala.

nnaamirizza) v.i.&tr. speak in oracles; speak to someone at a distance (particularly words of warning, advice, good wishes, etc.).

be effective (e.g., of a medicine.); come to pass, turn out to be true. Ebigambo by'omulaguzi byalaka bulungi. The predictions {lit. words) of the seer actually came to pass. Omulimu gulase. The work has reached the point where it is producing results.

sound (of drums); sound an alarm. Ennpma ezirawa ezo zaaki? What are those drums beating for? Ebigambo bikira ejinoma okulawa. (prov.) Words travel more quickly than the sound of drums.

o- also luberyeberye, o- adv. in the beginning, at first, with the -a of rel. first, ekigambo eky'oluber(y)eberye, the first word, with cap. Oluberyeberye, The Book of Genesis, cf. -ber(y)eberye.

o- marriage (of a woman). The word is used most often with an accompanying ordinal. olufumbirwa lwe olw'okusatu, her third marriage. cf. fumba, fumbirwa.

o- (lu/n) used with the -a of rel. cascade, olunkukumuli lw'ebigambo, a torrent of words, olukunkumuli lw'abantu, a great many people, cf. kunkumuka, kunku- mula.

bleed by cupping; fig. eavesdrop on, spy on. kulumika muntu bigambo, to slander a person, falsely attribute words or actions to a person.

o- with the -a of rel. blurted out, indiscreet, amagambo ag'olumoltole, indiscreet words, cf. mottola.

denounce. Leka kummemeka bigambo. Stop accusing me falsely/ascribing words to me that I have not said.

e- (n/n) described in previous dictionaries as: sternum, sternal cartilage; pit of the stomach; internal bodily part. It is now used almost always in a figurative sense: heart, soul, seat of the emotions. It occurs in hundreds of phrases and expressions of which the following is a sampling: mu ngeri ya kawanika mmeeme, in a frightening way. kwekuba mmeeme, to reconsider, emmeeme n'enfa, and my heart sank/I was utterly distressed. Nze emmeeme yangwa wala. I became very depressed. Otukubye wala emmeeme. You have really given us a scare. Emmeeme yamudda mu nteeko. He felt relieved, lit. his heart went back in place, ow'emmeeme etawaana amangu, one who is easily nauseated. Emmeeme entye- muse. 1 am terribly anxious/concerned/ shocked. Kino kyali ng'ekyawanula emmeeme ye. This seemed to relieve him/ calm him down. Emmeeme katale, ky'esiima ky'egula. (prov.) The heart is like going to market — it buys what it wants. Emmeeme gy'esula, ebigere gye bikeera. fprov.J Where the heart sleeps is where the feet- go in the morning, i.e., when you sleep with the intention of doing something, that is what you do. Emmeeme etefumba kigambo ekwo- geza munno ky'atagenda kwerabira. (prov.) lit. The heart which does not fashion well the spoken word makes you say what your friend will never forget. The spoken word can never be retracted.

e- (n/n) polite word dung, excrement. Ekika kv'F,nkebuka. thename nf o clan.

often untranslatable, used to emphasize a previous word, very well; then, thus; therefore. Jjangu tugende nno. Let us hurry and go then. Sso nno nnali njagala okugaana. As a matter of fact, I really wanted to refuse.

e- (n/n) hartebeest. The word is of Lunyoro origin and much less frequently used than Luganda ennangaazi, q.v.

fruit);-fig. ‘pick off' (with a gun or other weapon), mu bye nnasobola okunojjola mu lukunkumuli Iw'ebigambo bye baali ba- fukumula, from what I was able to grasp from the torrent of words with which they were overwhelming me. cf. ^noga.

e-: eby'ensumattu, irresponsible, baseless statements; words that ‘slip out.' Ayogera bya nsumattu — tasimba bigambo ku mannyo. (prov.) An irresponsible person does not weigh his words, cf. suma- ttuka.

okukuba ekifaananyi; (in words) okutegeeza.

r is not written in initial position in a word (l is used instead). In actual practice unassimilated and partially assimilated words of foreign origin are so written.

v., okukomyawo; (words) okugambulula; (remember) okujjukira; r. the past, okusimula eby'edda.

okwolesa; (in words) okubuulira.

mangu; (in few words) mubigambo bitono.

plant seed in. Ata- lisiga kumpi nange z'asiga zirisaasaana. (prov.) lit. The one who does not plant near me, what he plants will be scattered. A person who does not have the same beliefs as I do will never convince me of his ways and his words will have little or no effect on me.

use as a point of departure. Note: This is a word for which a precise English equivalent is lacking. The following phrases illustrate the manner in which it may be used: okusinziira ku lipoota eyafuniddwa olunaku lw'eggulo, according to a report received yesterday. Okufa kwe kwasinziira ku butwa. His death was due to poisoning. Tulina ensonga ejinumu ddala kwe tusinziira ukukkiriza nga waiiwo... We have very firm reasons (from which we start) for believing that_ cf. -sinziivu, ekisinziiro

gobble up. kusontera bigambo, to pour out a torrent of words.

ssengange (ssejinange), ssengaawo, ssengaawe; ssengaffe, ssengammwe, ssengaabwe = my aunt, your aunt, his/her aunt, etc.

hurl; throw down; overthrow (a government); throw back; knock over; let fall, drop; lose; outdistance, leave behind, okusuulawo ebigambo, to say a few words, abantu abaasooka okwagalana okusuula enjuba, people who at first liked each other very much/extremely, abo bonna abamusudde omukono, all those who have helped him/given him a hand. Yagaana okusuulawo akagambo konna. He refused to give the slightest hint. Sitaani ensi eno ajja kugisuula wala. Satan is going to destroy this world.

ekitala, olupanka.

release; free. v.i. leave, depart. Nnata omuti ne nneesuula wansi. 1 let go of the tree and threw myself to the ground. Bwe twamala okulya ne tuta. When we finished eating we left, kuta bi- gambo, to pour out a torrent of words (of a hostile nature). Tota mabi. Don't give up, there is still hope.

when used, are generally suffixed directly to the word: jjajjange, jjajjaawo, jjajjaawe, jjajjaffe, jjajjammwe, jjajjaabwe; bajjajjange, etc. cf. obujjajja.

offer a seat to, cause to sit; make wait; convene (a meeting), kutuuza muntu mu bigambo, to call someone to account for his words or actions.

lit., you greeted me. The word is derived from the title of a popular song.

mpanze) v.tr. fit in, install, insert (e.g., a handle, a pole in the ground, bullets in a gun), ekitala ekiwange, a sword in its scabbard, a sheathed sword. Amadirisa tegannawangibwamu. The windows had not yet been installed.

mpulubudde) v.tr. speed up, hurry up. kuwulubula mmotoka, to drive a car at a high speed, kuwulubula bigambo, to blurt out a torrent of words (esp. of a critical or hostile nature).

mpuwuttanyizza) v.tr. keep turning over in the mouth (hot food), kuwuwuttanya bigambo, to twist the meaning of words; to engage in double-talk. cf. mpuwuttanya.

njiye) v.tr. spill; pour, pour out/away. v.i. flow, flow out/into (of a body of water); develop a rash; break out of the hill (of termites), okuyiwa Olungereza, to speak English very fluently, okuyiwa amagezi, to spoil/ruin apian, okuyiwa olutiko, to develop goose pimples, okuyiwa ebigambo, to pour out a torrent of words/invective, okuyiwako essubi, to spread grass, okuyiwa(ko) omukono, to sign one s name. Kva nsonvi nnvo okumu- yiwa. It is a shame to fail/disappoint him. Mwana muwala yamuyiwa. The girl jilted him. Omwami yanji(i)yeemu. My husband gave me some money/a treat.

o- (mu/ba) well-bred person; humane person, omusajja omuntumulamu, a gentleman in every sense of the word. cf. obuntubulamu, kintukiramu.

also kijjamalenge (la) baby bom with feet first. (Formerly it was thought that such a child would grow up to he a criminal. It was often strangled and buried at the crossroads. Hence the word sometimes has the meaning of unknown corpse.) cf. olulenge.

o- (mu/ba) headman. Lunyanko- le, omunyampara, Swahili, mnyapara. The word, is rare in Luganda and replaced by nnampala, q.v.

o- (mu/ba) banyan, one of a caste of Hindu merchants and traders. The ba- in banyan fn Hindi word cf Sanskrit uilgin) was presumably interpreted as the Bantu pluralizing affix ba-, thus producing the anomalous back formation Munyani. This does not occur in Swahili which has banyani.

etc. Baabinjokerawo nti teri mulimu. They told me right off that there was no work, lit. burned words (-bi- implies ebigambo) at me. Omusana gunjokedde busa. have troubled myself/worked in vain, lit. the sun has shone on me in vain, kukwokera Katebo, to be depressed at not getting what one wants, labour in vain, Katebo is a port on Lake Victoria).

v.tr. spear to death; pierce with a spear or sword.

pull out with a rapid movement. cf. fubutuka, fubutula.

o- with the -a of rel. few, few in in number; scarce, rare. Yayogedde ebi- gambo bya munyoto. He only spoke a few words. Ennyama efuuse ya munyoto. Meat has become scarce.