leo
noun · adverb
today; on this day.
Used alone or in a time phrase to anchor something to the present day.
Origins
Leo is the everyday Swahili word for "today." The comparative record treats it as earlier Bantu inheritance, and historical Swahili dictionaries document the straightforward "today" sense.
M. Haspelmath and U. Tadmor, World Loanword Database · Swahili profile (Max Planck Institute / Lexibank, 2009), Swahili profile; forms.csv.
Lists leo as earlier inherited Bantu vocabulary, not a loanword.
Edward Steere, A Handbook of the Swahili Language as Spoken at Zanzibar (Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1884), alphabetical entry: leo.
Documents the everyday sense "today."
Examples
Leo tuna kazi nyingi.
Today we have a lot of work.
Nitakupigia leo jioni.
I will call you this evening.
Leo ni siku nzuri.
Today is a good day.
Leo asubuhi niliamka mapema.
This morning I woke up early.
Tutaonana leo baada ya kazi.
We will see each other today after work.
Bei ya leo ni tofauti.
Today's price is different.
Leo hapana, labda kesho.
Not today, maybe tomorrow.
Nilisoma gazeti leo.
I read the newspaper today.
Leo ni siku yangu ya kuzaliwa.
Today is my birthday.
