linguistic:paraphrasing
Etymology

The origin of the word Khartoum is uncertain. Scholars posit that the name derives from the Dinka words khar-tuom (Dinka-Bor dialect) or khier-tuom (as is the pronunciation in various Dinka dialects), translating to "place where rivers meet". This is supported by historical accounts which place the Dinka homeland in central Sudan (around present-day Khartoum) as recently as the 13th-17th centuries A.D.

One folk etymology is that it is derived from Arabic khurṭūm (خرطوم ' trunk ' or ' hose '), probably referring to the narrow strip of land extending between the Blue and White Niles.

Captain J.A. Grant, who reached Khartoum in 1863 with Captain Speke 's expedition, thought the name was most probably from the Arabic qurtum (قرطم ' safflower ', i.e., Carthamus tinctorius), which was cultivated extensively in Egypt for its oil to be used as fuel. Some scholars speculate that the word derives from the Nubian word Agartum, meaning "the abode of Atum ", Atum being the Nubian and Egyptian god of creation. Other Beja scholars suggest Khartoum is derived from the Beja word hartoom, "meeting". Sociologist Vincent J. Donovan notes that in the Nilotic Maa language of the Maasai people, khartoum means "we have acquired" and that the geographical location of Khartoum is where Maasai oral tradition claims that the ancestors of the Maasai first acquired cattle.