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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

umlungu en · NOUN

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Bantu *mʊ̀dʊ̀ngʊ̀ Zulu uḿlungubor. English umlungu Borrowed from Zulu uḿlungu.

Meanings

  1. (South-Africa, derogatory, often) A white person.
    • The old man snorted and laughed, “Is your teacher an umlungu?” 2013, Samuel Muggington, People of the Stones:
    • No, the average Bantu always had a dilemma; live with the wild tribes and never know when some witchdoctor's tagati would strike him down; or live with the umlungus and respect his authority (and his sjambok). 1992, Colin Bender, Makapan odyssey, page 166:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
abelungu Number=Plur lexicographic
umlungus Number=Plur lexicographic

Synonyms

white person