iba
verb
to steal; to take without permission.
The dictionary form is often cited as -iba / kuiba; tense prefixes attach in ordinary speech.
Origins
Iba is the core Swahili verb for stealing. Historical handbooks treat kuiba as the infinitive, and the comparative record links it to an older Bantu theft root with no evidence of borrowing.
Sources3
M. Haspelmath and U. Tadmor, World Loanword Database · Swahili profile (Max Planck Institute / Lexibank, 2009), Swahili profile; forms.csv (-iba).
Lists Swahili -iba for to steal with no evidence for borrowing.
A. C. Madan, Swahili-English Dictionary (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1903), alphabetical entry: Iba.
Records Iba as steal, thieve.
Edward Steere, A Handbook of the Swahili Language as Spoken at Zanzibar (London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1884), alphabetical entry: Iba / Kwiba.
Records Iba kw- / Kwiba as to steal.
Examples
Usiiibe.
Do not steal it.
Aliiba pesa.
He stole money.
Kuiba ni kosa.
Stealing is wrong.
Nani aliiba simu yangu?
Who stole my phone?
Hawakuiba chochote.
They did not steal anything.
Polisi walimkamata kwa kuiba.
The police arrested him for stealing.
Usibe wakati wowote.
Do not steal at any time.
Walituibia mizigo.
They stole our luggage from us.
Ikiwa umeiba, rudisha.
If you have stolen, return it.
