matatu

Meanings

1. A minivan used as a shared taxi, especially one operating without a licence.

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Bantu *mà- Proto-Sabaki *ma- Swahili ma- Proto-Bantu *-tátʊ̀ Swahili -tatu Swahili matatubor. English matatu From Swahili matatu, a clipping of mapeni matatu (“thirty cents”, literally “three ten-cent coins”), the flat fare paid for such transportation in the 1960s. The word matatu is from ma- (prefix forming plurals) + -tatu (“three”) (from Proto-Bantu *-tátʊ̀ (“three”)).