Khoisan

American  

[koi-sahn] / ˈkɔɪ sɑn /

noun

1. a family of languages found chiefly in southern Africa and including the languages of the San and the Khoikhoi.

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adjective

1. of or belonging to Khoisan.

Khoisan British  

/ ˈkɔɪsɑːn, kɔɪˈsɑːn /

noun

1. a family of languages spoken in southern Africa by the Khoikhoi and Bushmen and by two small groups in Tanzania. A characteristic phonological feature of these languages is the use of suction stops (clicks)

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adjective

1. denoting, relating to, or belonging to this family of languages

Example Sentences

For the Khoisan people of southern Africa, it’s an archer confronting zebras and a lion.

From Science Magazine • Jan. 18, 2023

Although technically the Khoisan were not enslaved, they had been reduced to a situation very much like slavery.

From Textbooks • Dec. 14, 2022

Recently, Amazon halted a sizable investment in Cape Town after the descendants of the Khoisan people asserted that the Amazon facilities were being built on their ancestral lands.

From Washington Post • Apr. 26, 2022

The collective was a broad coalition of First Nations groups, said Zenzile Khoisan, one of its leaders, adding that the consultation with the developer was effective.

From New York Times • Mar. 21, 2022

Instead, the mystery involves blacks, Pygmies, and Khoisan, whose distributions hint at past population upheavals.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond