Lilongwe

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The capital and largest city of Malawi, a landlocked country in southeastern Africa
2. A city in central Malawi that serves as the national capital and seat of government
3. The administrative capital of Malawi, located in the central part of the country in southeastern Africa

Etymology: Lilongwe is the capital of Malawi, and its name is a Chichewa word for a local river rather than a person or a conquest. The city grew up around a small settlement on the Lilongwe River, and the name passed into English as a straightforward borrowing from Chichewa, the language spoken across much of the country. The place name became familiar in English as the city was developed into the national capital in the 1960s, when Malawi was moving toward and then reaching independence from Britain.