Matabele
Americannoun
-
Matabeles,
plural
-
Matabele
plural
noun
-
Now known as: Ndebele. a member of a formerly warlike people of southern Africa, now living in Zimbabwe: driven out of the Transvaal by the Boers in 1837
-
the language of this people, belonging to the Bantu group of the Niger-Congo family
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of Matabele
First recorded in 1815–25
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.
See Examples For:
He also wants to identify and analyse the antibiotics used by Matabele ants in cooperation with chemistry research groups.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 2, 2024
In Mozambique, Wilson studied the Matabele ant, a species that favors termites as food.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 8, 2020
Matabele ants, native to sub-Saharan Africa, lay siege to the termite colonies they eat by the hundreds, braving the potentially life-threatening bites of large soldier termites that defend them.
From National Geographic ● Feb. 13, 2018
Then, in the 1940s, the trade unions formed in Bulawayo were led by shop stewards who also captained the Zimbabwean teams Matabele Highlanders and Red Army.
From The Guardian ● May 28, 2015
Nhamo remembered a Matabele tale she had heard from Mother.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
After two months of negotiating the Matabeles were appeased and permanent peace, so far as the natives were concerned, dawned in Rhodesia.
From An African Adventure by Isaac Frederick Marcosson
The movement surprised a score or so of Matabeles, who had approached very softly in the darkness—a kind of advance-guard, I suppose, sent to reconnoitre and report to the main body.
From Chatterbox, 1906 by J. Erskine (John Erskine) Clarke
At that time it was doubtful if the Zulus, Matabeles, and Basutos were to be trusted, and consequently the position of the Colonel in supreme command was one of great responsibility.
From South Africa and the Transvaal War, Vol. 2 (of 6) From the Commencement of the War to the Battle of Colenso, 15th Dec. 1899 by Louis Creswicke
Just as soon as it was unveiled the Matabeles expressed considerable astonishment over it.
From An African Adventure by Isaac Frederick Marcosson
The Matabeles seized this moment to strike again.
From An African Adventure by Isaac Frederick Marcosson
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
