shabeel

Somali

Shabèel. (On the coat of arms of Somalia).

Etymology

Derived from Proto-Cushitic *kefc- (“spotted cat”). Compare Beja kafa.

Cognate with Maay shaweel, Jiiddu shuul, Baiso kebel, Sidamo kewelcho, Hadiyya kabeera, Yaaku ch'epen, and Afar kabqi, Saho qabica. In Southern Nilotic, compare Nandi cheplanget.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʃɑ̀ˈbɛ̂ːl/, [ʃɑ̀ˈβ̞ɛ̂ːl]

Noun

shabèel m (plural shabeello, definite shabeelka)

1. leopard (Panthera pardus)

Inflection

Declension of shabeel

	singular
absolutive	shabèel
nominative	shabeel
genitive	shabéel
vocative	shabeelyahow

Derived terms

• Shabeelle

References

• “shabeel”, in Qaamuuska Af-Soomaaliga, 2012