iheeni

iheeni

Kikuyu

Etymology

From kũheenia (“to tell a lie”).[1]

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ìhɛ̀ːní/

As for Tonal Class, Benson (1964) classifies this term into Class 4 with a disyllabic stem, together with kĩng'ang'i, ngũkũ, kĩeha, and so on.

• (Limuru) As for Tonal Class, Yukawa (1981) classifies this term into a group including hiti, icembe, igoko (pl. magoko), ihĩtia (pl. mahĩtia), itumbĩ (pl. matumbĩ), kĩeha, kĩng'ang'i, mũhikania, mũhũmũ, mũkanda, mbica, nduka, ngingo, ngũkũ, rũthanju, tombo, and so on.[2]

Noun

iheeni class 5 (plural maheeni)

1. lie, trick, deception, untruth, falsehood

Derived terms

(Proverbs)

• maheeni ti ũrogi

Related terms

(Nouns)

• mũheenania class 1

References

1. “iheeni” in Benson, T.G. (1964). Kikuyu-English dictionary, p. 145. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
2. Yukawa, Yasutoshi (1981). "A Tentative Tonal Analysis of Kikuyu Nouns: A Study of Limuru Dialect." In Journal of Asian and African Studies, No. 22, 75–123.