Date
Type Country
Usage Tswana, English, Shona, German, French, Italian, Catalan, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Estonian, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Hungarian, Romanian
Pronounced Pron. /bɑt.ˈswɑn.ə/(American English) /bɒt.ˈswɑːn.ə/(British English) /bɔ.ˈtsu̯aː.na/(German) /bɔ.tswa.na/(French) /but.su.ˈa.nə/(Catalan) /ˌbɔt.ˈsʋaː.naː/(Dutch) /bɔ.ˈt͡sfa.na/(Polish) /ˈbo.t͡svaː.nɒ/(Hungarian)
Meaning & History
Means "place of the Tswana people" in the Tswana language, from the locative prefix bo- combined with the name of Tswana people, itself of uncertain origin, possibly from tswa "to go out" or tshwana "to resemble". This is the name of a country in the south of Africa. During the British colonial period the region was called Bechuanaland, which was more accurately rendered as Botswana when the country achieved independence in 1966.