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Zan·zi·bar (zănzə-bär)
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1. A region of eastern Africa, comprising Zanzibar Island and several adjacent islands off the northeast coast of Tanzania. Arab and Portuguese traders visited the region in early times, and it was controlled by Omanis in the 1700s and 1800s before being established as a protectorate by Britain in 1890. Zanzibar became an independent sultanate in 1963, but a republic was declared after an uprising in 1964, and Zanzibar joined Tanganyika later that year to form Tanzania.
2. A city of Tanzania on the western coast of Zanzibar Island. Founded in the 1500s as a Portuguese trading post, it was a major center of the East African ivory trade in the 1800s.

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Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.