umlungu
English
Etymology
Noun
umlungu (plural umlungus or abelungu)
- (South Africa, often derogatory) A white person.
- 1992, Colin Bender, Makapan odyssey, page 166:
- 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).
- 2013, Samuel Muggington, People of the Stones:
- The old man snorted and laughed, “Is your teacher an umlungu?”
Synonyms
Swazi
Etymology
From Proto-Bantu *mʊ̀dʊ̀ngʊ̀, a variant of Proto-Bantu *mʊ̀jʊ́ngʊ̀.
Noun
úḿlungu class 1 (plural bélungu class 2)
- white person
Inflection
This entry needs an inflection-table template.
Xhosa
Etymology
From Proto-Bantu *mʊ̀dʊ̀ngʊ̀, a variant of Proto-Bantu *mʊ̀jʊ́ngʊ̀.
According to the Greater Dictionary of IsiXhosa, the term also referred to a “member of the abeLungu clan descended from whites shipwrecked on the Pondoland coast circa 1700 and absorbed by the Pondos ... ” Many White South Africans believe that it means "scum of the sea".[1]
Pronunciation
Noun
úḿlungu class 1 (plural ábélungu class 2)
- white person
Inflection
This entry needs an inflection-table template.
References
Zulu
Etymology
From Proto-Bantu *mʊ̀dʊ̀ngʊ̀, a variant of Proto-Bantu *mʊ̀jʊ́ngʊ̀.
Pronunciation
Noun
uḿlungu class 1 (plural abélungu class 2)
- white person
- (South Africa, slang) a fellow black person, especially one who is more richer or famous[1]
Inflection
Class 1/2 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Singular | Plural | |||
Full form | umlungu | abelungu | ||
Locative | kumlungu | kubelungu | ||
Singular | Plural | |||
Full form | umlungu | abelungu | ||
Simple form | mlungu | belungu | ||
Locative | kumlungu | kubelungu | ||
Copulative | ngumlungu | ngabelungu | ||
Possessive forms | ||||
Singular | Plural | |||
Modifier | Substantive | Modifier | Substantive | |
Class 1 | womlungu | owomlungu | wabelungu | owabelungu |
Class 2 | bomlungu | abomlungu | babelungu | ababelungu |
Class 3 | womlungu | owomlungu | wabelungu | owabelungu |
Class 4 | yomlungu | eyomlungu | yabelungu | eyabelungu |
Class 5 | lomlungu | elomlungu | labelungu | elabelungu |
Class 6 | omlungu | awomlungu | abelungu | awabelungu |
Class 7 | somlungu | esomlungu | sabelungu | esabelungu |
Class 8 | zomlungu | ezomlungu | zabelungu | ezabelungu |
Class 9 | yomlungu | eyomlungu | yabelungu | eyabelungu |
Class 10 | zomlungu | ezomlungu | zabelungu | ezabelungu |
Class 11 | lomlungu | olomlungu | lwabelungu | olwabelungu |
Class 14 | bomlungu | obomlungu | babelungu | obabelungu |
Class 15 | komlungu | okomlungu | kwabelungu | okwabelungu |
Class 17 | komlungu | okomlungu | kwabelungu | okwabelungu |
Derived terms
References
- C. M. Doke, B. W. Vilakazi (1972) “-lungu”, in Zulu-English Dictionary, →ISBN: “-lungu (3.2.9.9)”
Categories:
- English terms borrowed from Zulu
- English terms derived from Zulu
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English nouns with irregular plurals
- South African English
- English derogatory terms
- English terms with quotations
- Swazi terms inherited from Proto-Bantu
- Swazi terms derived from Proto-Bantu
- Swazi lemmas
- Swazi nouns
- Swazi class 1 nouns
- Xhosa terms inherited from Proto-Bantu
- Xhosa terms derived from Proto-Bantu
- Xhosa terms with IPA pronunciation
- Xhosa lemmas
- Xhosa nouns
- Xhosa class 1 nouns
- Zulu terms inherited from Proto-Bantu
- Zulu terms derived from Proto-Bantu
- Zulu terms with IPA pronunciation
- Zulu lemmas
- Zulu nouns
- Zulu class 1 nouns
- South African Zulu
- Zulu slang
- Zulu nouns with tone LL