moja (Swahili)
Where does "moja" come from?
The Swahili word 'moja', meaning 'one', traces its roots back to the Proto-Bantu term *-mòì. Its ancestry reaches even further into the deep history of African languages, suggesting a potential connection to deeper linguistic ancestors like Proto-Atlantic-Congo and Proto-Niger-Congo.
Full etymology tree
- moja (Swahili), 'one'
- inherited *-mòì (Proto-Bantu), 'one'
- derived *m-o-ʔ (Proto-Bantoid)
- inherited *-mot- (Proto-Atlantic-Congo)
- inherited *ku-n-di (Proto-Niger-Congo)
- inherited *-mot- (Proto-Atlantic-Congo)
- derived *m-o-ʔ (Proto-Bantoid)
- inherited *-mòì (Proto-Bantu), 'one'
Ancestors
- *-mòì (Proto-Bantu)
Descendants and derived words
- moja kwa moja (Swahili)
- mojawapo (Swahili)
- pamoja (Swahili)
- pamoja (Swahili)
- umoja (Swahili)
Updated July 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris