Bantu

See also: bantu, bantú, bàntú, and bǎntú

English

Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *bàntʊ̀ (“people”), as reconstructed by the 19th-century linguist Wilhelm Bleek.

Noun

Bantu (plural Bantus or Bantu)

  1. A member of any of the African ethnic groups that speak a Bantu language.
  2. (South Africa, dated, now offensive) A black South African.

Usage notes

Black South Africans were at times officially called "Bantus" by the Apartheid regime. New legislation and documents from the South African government have replaced "Bantu" with "Black" due to the former word's derogatory connotations. Outside Southern Africa the term is still widely used as a term for the Bantu-speaking peoples.

Proper noun

Bantu

  1. The largest African language family of the Niger-Congo group, spoken in much of Sub-Saharan Africa.

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