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Ndebele

American  
[uhn-duh-bee-lee] / ən dəˈbi li /

noun

Ndebeles plural
  1. Also called Matabele.  a member of a Nguni people of the Transvaal and Zimbabwe.

  2. the Bantu language of these people.


Ndebele British  
/ ənˈdɛbɛle /

noun

  1. a member of a Negroid people of Zimbabwe See also Matabele

  2. the language of this people, belonging to the Bantu grouping of the Niger-Congo family

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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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.

The people in the area today are mostly farmers of the Ndebele ethnic group, whose ancestors migrated from the north in several waves starting about 4000 years ago.

From Science Magazine • Nov. 27, 2024

Sthembiso Ndebele lives in one of the shacks with her three children, including her disabled 10-year-old son, who she said is not coping with the conditions.

From BBC • Jan. 24, 2024

Traditionally, Ndebele women painted colourful geometric patterns on the outside of their homes, often representing important events such as weddings.

From The Guardian • Nov. 22, 2020

“Authorities are not comfortable with this subject,” producer Zenzele Ndebele told the screening crowd on Wednesday night.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 18, 2018

I read that more than 90 percent of the Zimbabwean people were called Shona, but that there was another tribe called Ndebele, which I think was pronounced en-duh-BELL-lay.

From "I Will Always Write Back" by Caitlin Alifirenka and Martin Ganda

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