gahinga
gahinga Lexical Profile
• noun
An extinct volcano located in the Virunga Mountains on the border between Rwanda and Uganda, named for its resemblance to a local pile of field stones.
"We spent the morning hiking the slopes of Gahinga in search of the endangered golden monkeys."
A small mound or pile of stones cleared from agricultural land, characteristic of traditional farming practices in the volcanic regions of Rwanda and southwestern Uganda.
"To prepare the plot for planting potatoes, the farmers first had to gather the scattered volcanic rocks into a gahinga."
• Rhymes for gahinga
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed from Kinyarwanda and Rufumbira 'gahinga', meaning 'a small pile of stones'. The term originates from the traditional agricultural practice of clearing volcanic rocks from fields and stacking them into mounds.