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Meaning of Acholi in English:

Acholi

Pronunciation /əˈtʃəʊli/

nounplural noun Acholi

  • 1A member of a farming and pastoral people of northern Uganda and South Sudan.

    ‘One of them was the Acholi, a tribe that populates the northern Gulu region where the couple struggled for years to build their hospital.’
    • ‘The Acholi is the dominant tribe in northern Uganda.’
    • ‘The Acholi are located in the Gulu, Kitgum and Pader districts, while the Langi are in the neighboring Lango district.’
    • ‘Like many African communities, the Acholi believe that deep social rifts are caused by killings and require elaborate reconciliation mechanisms to restore fractured relations.’
    • ‘The Acholi are great nickname givers, like Egyptians.’

  • 2mass noun The Nilotic language of the Acholi.

    ‘The Western Nilotic language groups include the Langi and Acholi as well as the Alur.’
    • ‘But, Okot's topical, graphic, and exciting version, read side by side with my ponderous lines, should yield to the reader as much of what the Acholi original has as is possible.’
    • ‘Mother tongue proficiency in Acholi, Ateso, Kumam or Lango and excellent English and/or French are required.’
    • ‘He was soft-spoken and he spoke Acholi through an interpreter.’
    • ‘They speak Acholi, Amharic, Bemba, Chaldean, Dinka, Pashto, Kinyarwanda, Nuer, Somali, and many other languages.’

adjective

  • Relating to the Acholi or their language.

    ‘The Acholi tribe has sophisticated rites of forgiveness and reconciliation, a lesson to those of us in the West.’
    • ‘Some reference to the classical West African epics, to Oko p'Bitek's Acholi songs, or the long tradition of Swahili literature would have been useful.’
    • ‘The Acholi and Langi ethnic groups were particular objects of Amin's political persecution because they had supported Obote and made up a large part of the army.’
    • ‘Several internationally cerebrated Acholi authors include Frank Anywar, and the late Okot p'Bitek.’
    • ‘The Acholi people of Northern Uganda have a rich and diverse cultural heritage.’

Origin

The name in Acholi.