Zimbabwe

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A landlocked country located in Southern Africa, known for its diverse culture and significant historical sites
2. An African country bordered by Zambia, Botswana, and South Africa, famous for its natural resources and rich heritage
3. A nation in southern Africa famous for its wildlife, natural beauty, and ancient civilizations

Etymology: Zimbabwe takes its name from the Great Zimbabwe ruins, the stone city whose walls still stand near the modern town of Masvingo. The name is a Bantu term for a meeting house, and the ruins were built as a royal and ceremonial center, with the stone enclosures giving the place its name. The word is usually glossed as "house of stone" or "venerated houses," though the precise sense of the Shona original is debated among scholars. When the British colony of Southern Rhodesia became independent in 1980, it took the name Zimbabwe, reviving the ancient site's name in place of the colonial one. The choice tied the new nation to a monumental African civilization that predated European arrival, rather than to the colonizer who had named the territory after Cecil Rhodes.