Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

zamboanga

/zɐmbˈwaŋ.ɡɐ/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.52 in modern English

Syllables
zam-boan-ga
IPA
/zɐmbˈwaŋ.ɡɐ/
23
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars

Meaning

name

Province of Zamboanga (a former province of Mindanao, Philippines)

name

The Republic of Zamboanga, a short-lived revolutionary republic, founded after the collapse of Spanish colonial rule in the Philippines, existing between May and November 1899.

Etymology

From Spanish Zamboanga, from Central Sama Samboangan (“mooring place”), from sambuwang (“large mooring post”) + -an (locative suffix). The root is cognate with Malay sembuang (“large mooring post”). The original etymon is attested in the Velarde map (1734). A popular folk etymology may also attribute it to Malay jambangan (“flower garden”), from jambang (“flower pot”) + -an (locative suffix), but this name has never been attested in any historical records prior to the 1960s with the place being historically attested usually instead as "Samboangan".

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: Zamboanga, Samboangan

Derived Forms

Phrases

Questions

How do you pronounce zamboanga?
The recorded pronunciation is /zɐmbˈwaŋ.ɡɐ/.
What does zamboanga mean?
Zamboanga City (a city in Zamboanga Peninsula, Mindanao, Philippines)
Where does zamboanga come from?
It is traced to Spanish.

How to pronounce zamboanga

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “zamboanga”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/zɐmbˈwaŋ.ɡɐ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “zamboanga”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “zamboanga” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.