Dahomey

From Fon dã homè (“belly of Dã; snake's belly”).

• IPA^(key): /dəˈhəʊmi/

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Dahomey

2. (historical) A former kingdom in West Africa, existing from c. 1600–1904 and located in the southern part of present-day Benin.
   • 2016, Zadie Smith, Swing Time, New York, N.Y.: Penguin Press, →ISBN, pages 360–361:

     The way other children hear tell of Red Riding Hood and Goldilocks, I heard of this ‘Black Sparta’, the noble kingdom of Dahomey, fighting to hold off the French to the very end.

4. (historical) Former name of Benin: a country in West Africa; used from 1958–1975. Official name: Republic of Dahomey.

• Dahomeyan