Igbo
/ˈiːbəʊ
/(also Ibo)
noun (plural same or Igbos)
1A member of a people of SE Nigeria.He states flat out that the Hausas hated the Igbos and that this was responsible for their massacre of the Igbos in northern Nigeria in the summer of 1966....
- The impact of Western ways has been furthered by the increased immigration of southern Nigerians, such as Igbos and Yorubas, who typically have had greater exposure to the Western world.
- The Africans began to see themselves not as Hausas, Igbos, or Yorubas, but as Nigerians in a common struggle against their colonial rulers.
2 [mass noun] The language of the Igbo, belonging to the Kwa group and having some 12 million speakers.The Gullah language retains a great deal of West African syntax and combines English vocabulary with words from African languages such as Ewe, Mandinka, Igbo, Twi, Yoruba, and Mende....
- The major languages are English (official language), Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo, and Fulani.
- The words wa, zo, and bia translate as ‘come’ respectively in Yoruba, Ibo, and Hausa, three prominent West African languages.
adjective
Relating to the Igbo or their language.For some of the educated elite of Enugu State, cultural revitalization would valorize Igbo mores and values....
- This Igbo proverb emphasizes that an eagle's skill and success at hunting develop over time, indicating that a mature eagle, like a senior man, is more beautiful and more powerful than he was when he was young.
- According to notes by Harris dating to 1954 (supplied by Eli Bentor), an Igbo informant told him that all of these were made by Ibibio.
Origin
A local name.