the Bantu language of the Chewa of east central Africa
The Bantu language of the Chewa tribe belonging to the Bantu linguistic family and one of Malawi’s national tongues promoted as the country’s lingua franca.
The word comes from Chichewa, where it is formed by combining the prefix chi- meaning "language" with the root Cheŵa. This construction literally refers to the language of the Chewa people.