Dahomey

English

Etymology

From Fon dã homè (“belly of Dã; snake's belly”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dəˈhəʊmi/

Proper noun

Dahomey

2. (historical) A former country in Africa, located in present-day Benin.
   • 2016, Zadie Smith, Swing Time, New York, N.Y.: Penguin Press, →ISBN, pages 360–361:

     The way other children hear tell of Red Riding Hood and Goldilocks, I heard of this ‘Black Sparta’, the noble kingdom of Dahomey, fighting to hold off the French to the very end.

Derived terms

• Dahomeyan

Translations

former country in Africa

• Dutch: Dahomey (nl) n
• French: Dahomey (fr) m
• German: Dahomey (de) n
• Greek: Δαχομέη (el) f (Dachoméi)
• Korean: 다호메이 (Dahomei)
• Lithuanian: Dahomėja f
• Portuguese: Daomé m
• Russian: Дагоме́я (ru) f (Dagoméja)
• Spanish: Dahomey (es)
• Yoruba: Ìdàhọ̀mì, Dàhọ̀mì