Xhosa

or Xo·sa

[ koh-suh, -zuh, kaw- ]

/ ˈkoʊ sə, -zə, ˈkɔ- /

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noun, plural Xho·sas, (especially collectively) Xho·sa for 1.

a member of a Nguni people of eastern Cape Province, Republic of South Africa.

the Bantu language of the Xhosa.

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Words nearby Xhosa

xerothermic, Xerox, xerus, Xerxes I, x-height, Xhosa, xi, Xia Gui, Xiamen, xian, Xiang

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use Xhosa in a sentence

Two of South Africa’s main languages, Zulu and Xhosa, will be made available on Duolingo, one of the most popular language-learning apps and websites.
South Africa’s most popular languages are coming to Duolingo|Carlos Mureithi|August 20, 2021|Quartz
The book, among other things, will underscore how amazing it is that Noah, son of a Xhosa mother and a Swiss father in apartheid South Africa, is alive, much less a celebrity.
The best audiobooks for your summer drive, sorted by length — and who’s in the car|Katherine A. Powers|May 27, 2021|Washington Post
In his autobiography, Nelson Mandela wrote about the “almost mystical attachment that the Xhosa have for cattle, not only as a source of food and wealth, but as a blessing from God and a source of happiness.”
The New Face of Entrepreneurship?|Joshua Eferighe|February 21, 2021|Ozy
“Yes of course there is much to do,” he responded, with a thick Xhosa accent.
South Africa Kicks Off Week Of Mourning Mandela|Mark Gevisser|December 9, 2013|DAILY BEAST

British Dictionary definitions for Xhosa

Xhosa

/ (ˈkɔːsə) /

noun

plural -sa or -sas a member of a cattle-rearing Negroid people of southern Africa, living chiefly in South Africa

the language of this people, belonging to the Bantu group of the Niger-Congo family: one of the Nguni languages, closely related to Swazi and Zulu and characterized by several clicks in its sound system

Derived forms of Xhosa

Xhosan, adjective

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