English word origin

Etymology of sengi

Borrowed from Swahili sengi, probably from another Bantu language (compare Giryama sanje).

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗

noun

Any of several small, insectivorous long-nosed mammals, of the family Macroscelididae within the Macroscelidea order, native to Africa.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Borrowed from Swahili sengi, probably from another Bantu language (compare Giryama sanje).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Borrowed-form mentionsengisw
Cognate mentionsanjenyf

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "vern",
      "args": {
        "1": "black and rufous sengi"
      },
      "expansion": "black and rufous sengi"
    },
    {
      "name": "taxlink",
      "args": {
        "1": "Rhynchocyon petersi",
        "2": "species"
      },
      "expansion": "Rhynchocyon petersi"
    },
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "sw",
        "3": "sengi"
      },
      "expansion": "Swahili sengi"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "bnt",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Bantu"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nyf",
        "2": "sanje"
      },
      "expansion": "Giryama sanje"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "sengi",
      "sengi#Swahili"
    ],
    [
      "sanje",
      "sanje#Giryama"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [
    {
      "lang": "Maltese",
      "lang_code": "mt",
      "word": "senġi",
      "raw_tags": [
        "borrowed"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Any of several small, insectivorous long-nosed mammals, of the family Macroscelididae within the Macroscelidea order, native to Africa."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "7ff022572f473c75560762699402d9ac8d6a00f58dabfa43ddfff6fbd8a81cf3",
      "rawRecordSha256": "6c3f6511b54c9116dfe8e92d0eee58cf00e31952be6c230cd5390572ba8b5d67",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 4015970
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
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    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

noun

A former (1967–1993) monetary unit of Zaire, one hundredth of a likuta, and one ten-thousandth of a zaire; it was issued only in ten sengi coins.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

PIE word *pénkʷe Borrowed from Kongo sengi, senki, from French cinq (“five”) (in the sense of five sous). Doublet of cinque, fin (“five currency units”), finnuf, five, pimp (“five”), ponzu, and punch (“beverage”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Borrowed-form mentionsengikg
Derivation mentioncinqfr · five
Doublet mentioncinqueen
Doublet mentionfinnufen
Doublet mentionfiveen
Doublet mentionponzuen

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "dercat",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "langname",
      "args": {
        "1": "ine-pro"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European"
    },
    {
      "name": "word",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine",
        "3": "pénkʷe",
        "id": ""
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "PIE word",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "pénkʷe"
      },
      "expansion": "PIE word\n *pénkʷe"
    },
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "kg",
        "3": "sengi"
      },
      "expansion": "Kongo sengi"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fr",
        "3": "cinq",
        "t": "five"
      },
      "expansion": "French cinq (“five”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "cinque",
        "3": "fin<id:five><t:five currency units>",
        "4": "finnuf",
        "5": "five",
        "6": "pimp<id:five><t:five>",
        "7": "ponzu",
        "8": "punch<id:beverage><t:beverage>"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of cinque, fin (“five currency units”), finnuf, five, pimp (“five”), ponzu, and punch (“beverage”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*pénkʷe",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/pénkʷe"
    ],
    [
      "sengi",
      "sengi#Kongo"
    ],
    [
      "senki",
      "senki#Kongo"
    ],
    [
      "cinq",
      "cinq#French"
    ],
    [
      "sou",
      "sou"
    ],
    [
      "cinque",
      "cinque#English"
    ],
    [
      "fin",
      "fin#English:_five"
    ],
    [
      "finnuf",
      "finnuf#English"
    ],
    [
      "five",
      "five#English"
    ],
    [
      "pimp",
      "pimp#English:_five"
    ],
    [
      "ponzu",
      "ponzu#English"
    ],
    [
      "punch",
      "punch#English:_beverage"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A former (1967–1993) monetary unit of Zaire, one hundredth of a likuta, and one ten-thousandth of a zaire; it was issued only in ten sengi coins."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "historical"
      ],
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      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 4015971
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    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for sengi →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger

Machine-source provenance

Source SHA-256: 5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run: 73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID: w-c2VuZ2k