mitumba

English

Etymology

From Swahili mitumba, plural of mtumba (“bundle, bale”). Second-hand clothes are often packaged in bundles or bales.[1][2]

Noun

mitumba (countable and uncountable, plural mitumbas)

  1. (in parts of Africa) Second-hand clothing, especially that provided by aid agencies and subsequently sold.

References

  • OED (online) 2007
  1. ^ Martina Tondo (27 October 2023), “A third of all second-hand clothing shipped to Kenya is plastic waste in disguise”, in Lampoon‎[1]: “When the ships full of used clothes arrive at Mombasa port, large bundles are unloaded and placed in warehouses. These imported second-hand clothes are referred to as ‘mitumba’, a Kiswahili term meaning bale or bundle, as the clothing is often packaged in bales for sale to retailers.”
  2. ^ Morris Kiruga (1 December 2013), “‘Mtumba’ means bale, nay, second-hand in market language”, in Daily Nation‎[2]: “Mitumba is now synonymous with second-hand clothes in East Africa. It is a Kiswahili word for “bales” or “bundles”, but the modern-day use is in reference to the way second-hand clothes are packed in plastic bundles prior to shipping.”

Anagrams

Swahili

Pronunciation

  • Audio (Kenya):(file)

Noun

mitumba

  1. plural of mtumba
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