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Bantu

(ban′to̵̅o̅′; also, ban to̵̅o̅′)

noun

a group of more than 200 languages belonging to the Niger-Congo language subfamily, including Swahili, Xhosa, and Zulu
pl. Bantus or Bantu a member of any of the Bantu-speaking peoples living throughout the S half of the African continent

Origin: Bantu ba-ntu, the men < ba, var. of aba, pl. prefix + -ntu, man: coined (1850s) by W. H. I. Bleek, librarian of the Brit gov. of the Cape Colony

adjective

of the Bantus or their languages or cultures

See Bantu in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun pl. Bantu Bantu or Ban·tus

A member of any of a large number of linguistically related peoples of central and southern Africa.
A group of over 400 closely related languages spoken in central, east-central, and southern Africa, belonging to the South Central subgroup of the Niger-Congo language family and including Swahili, Kinyarwanda, Kirundi, Zulu, and Xhosa.

Origin:

Origin: From Proto-Bantu *bantu, people

Origin: : *ba-, pl. human pref.

Origin: + *-ntu, entity

Related Forms: