# matatu

> English word · Noun · IPA /məˈtætuː/

## Definitions
1. A minivan used as a shared taxi, especially one operating without a licence.

## Etymology
From Swahili matatu, a clipping of mapeni matatu (“thirty cents”, literally “three ten-cent coins”), the flat fare paid for such transportation in the 1960s. The word matatu is from ma- (prefix forming plurals) + -tatu (“three”) (from Proto-Bantu *-tátʊ̀ (“three”)).

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/matatu