siafu

Borrowed from Swahili siafu.

siafu (plural siafus or siafu)

1. An army ant.
   • 2016, Kevin Baker, The World's Most Dangerous Animals:

     Male driver ants leave the colony soon after they hatch but are drawn to the scent trails left by colonies of siafu ants when they reach sexual maturity.

   • 1957, William W. Baldwin, Mau Mau Man-hunt, page 216:

     The siafus, together with the hyena, jackal and vulture, are the great scavengers of Kenya.

• Audio (Kenya):

  (file)

siafu (n class, plural siafu)

1. army ant; biting ant

Cognate with Sahu siau, Galela siapu, Loloda siau.

• IPA^(key): /si.ˈa.fu/

siafu

1. the plant Dioscorea esculenta var. tiliifolia

• IPA^(key): [si.ˈa.fu]

siafu

1. (stative) to be soft

• Rika Hayami-Allen (2001) A descriptive study of the language of Ternate, the northern Moluccas, Indonesia, University of Pittsburgh