Bemba
Americannoun
plural
Bembas,plural
Bemba-
a member of a numerous agricultural people of Zambia.
-
the Bantu language spoken by the Bemba, widely used as a lingua franca in Zambia.
noun
-
a member of a Negroid people of Africa, living chiefly in Zambia on a high infertile plateau
-
the language of this people, belonging to the Bantu group of the Niger-Congo family
Etymology
Origin of Bemba
First recorded in 1935–40
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.
There will also be nods to the diversity of the global Anglican Communion - with singing in Urdu, a Gospel reading in Spanish and a prayer in the Bemba language of Zambia.
From BBC • Mar. 25, 2026
The crowd responded, “Kumushi,” the equivalent of home in the local Bemba dialect.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 4, 2025
On Sunday, a congress of the Sacred Union coalition that includes political heavyweights such as Defence Minister Jean Pierre Bemba and Economy Minister Vital Kamerhe, picked Tshisekedi unanimously.
From Reuters • Oct. 1, 2023
“Stop the Rot,” sung in Bemba, criticizes those who still practice witchcraft in Zambia.
From New York Times • May 30, 2023
He heard through Radio Bemba, which is how people are referring to gossip, Radio Big Mouth, that the compound is now a SIM interrogation center.
From "Before We Were Free" by Julia Alvarez
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.
