Xhosa
Americannoun
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a member of a Nguni people of eastern Cape Province, Republic of South Africa.
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the Bantu language of the Xhosa.
noun
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a member of a cattle-rearing Negroid people of southern Africa, living chiefly in South Africa
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the language of this people, belonging to the Bantu group of the Niger-Congo family: one of the Nguni languages, closely related to Swazi and Zulu and characterized by several clicks in its sound system
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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He translates the song’s lyrics from Zulu and Xhosa, two of South Africa’s 12 national languages, and offers a broader critique on the film.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 27, 2026
Kendi — the “X” stands for his middle name, Xolani, a Xhosa and Zulu word for peace — pulls no punches in making such connections.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 13, 2025
In Johannesburg and the Eastern Cape, the vocal tradition of isicathamiya and the steady, Zulu and Xhosa dance rhythms of the regions exerted strong influence.
From New York Times ● Jun. 5, 2024
In 2004, he spent a month in the wilderness with a troop of young men from his community - all part of a coming-of-age ritual traditionally observed by South Africa's Xhosa ethnic group.
From BBC ● Mar. 1, 2024
Though it was a mostly Xhosa institution, there were also students from different tribes.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
Zulu's protagonist is a Zulu by the name of Ali Neuman, a survivor of inter-tribal brutality when Xhosas and Zulus were fighting for dominance as South Africa moved towards democracy.
From The Guardian ● Jun. 30, 2010
Zulus and Xhosas are among the groups were polygamy is practised, but it has largely become a rural phenomenon.
From BBC ● Feb. 3, 2010
In theory, Matanzima's nation will have a population of nearly 3.3 million Xhosas.
From Time Magazine Archive
My life, and that of most Xhosas at the time, was shaped by custom, ritual, and taboo.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
Urban life tended to abrade tribal and ethnic distinctions, and instead of being Xhosas, or Sothos, or Zulus, or Shangaans, we were Alexandrians.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
