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

In Cape Town, improvisers picked up on the carnival music of the townships’ Coloured population, a mix of Malaysian, Indian, Dutch, Khoisan and Black African heritages.

From New York Times • Jun. 5, 2024

In fact, many of the words in the southern Bantu language that relate to cattle and cattle-herding practices are derived from Khoisan.

From Textbooks • Apr. 19, 2023

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

From Science Magazine • Jan. 18, 2023

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

All we can say for sure is that, in places where Khoisan peoples had lived for perhaps tens of thousands of years, there are now Bantu.

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