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a member of any of several peoples forming a linguistically and in some respects culturally interrelated family in central and southern africa.
a grouping of more than 500 languages of central and southern africa, as kikuyu, swahili, tswana, and zulu, all related within a subbranch of the benue-congo branch of the niger-kordofanian family.
of, relating to, or characteristic of bantu or the bantu peoples.
historical examples

the people over whom he ruled seem to have been the bantu tribe of the makalanga in the neighbourhood of sofala.
balder the beautiful, vol. i. sir james george frazer

as the bantu vary in aspect, so do they also in intelligence.
impressions of south africa james bryce

it should be superfluous to say that the bantu myth cannot possibly throw any tight on the real origin of totemism.
the secret of the totem andrew lang

to the south of the congo the various bantu tribes are still little known.
the races of man joseph deniker

but in most of the bantu tribes this totem idea does not exist as a worship.
fetichism in west africa robert hamill n-ssau

the languages of the various bantu tribes have strong affinities.
tales of south africa h.a. bryden

he found an abundance of ivory and some gold and heard that the inhabitants of kilwa had gained victories over the zenji or bantu.
the negro w.e.b. du bois

this conception is, as far as i know, constant in both negro and bantu.
west african studies mary henrietta kingsley

the bantu verb consists of a practically unchangeable root which is employed as the second person singular of the imperative.
encyclopaedia britannica, 11th edition, volume 3, part 1, slice 3 various

the bantu tribes were healthy and vigorous, but they were rarely at peace.
the world and its people: book vii anna b. badlam

noun
a group of languages of africa, including most of the princ-p-l languages spoken from the equator to the cape of good hope, but excluding the khoisan family: now generally regarded as part of the benue-congo branch of the niger-congo family
(south african, taboo) (pl) -tu, -tus. a black speaker of a bantu language
adjective
denoting, relating to, or belonging to this group of peoples or to any of their languages

1862, applied to south african language group in the 1850s by german linguist wilhelm heinrich immanuel bleek (1827-1875), from native ba-ntu “mankind,” from ba-, plural prefix, + ntu “a man, person.” bantustan in a south african context is from 1949.