Hottentot

[ hot-n-tot ]

noun

1. Khoikhoi.

Hottentot

/ ˈhɒtənˌtɒt /

noun

1. -tot-tots a former name for Khoikhoi
2. any of the languages of this people, belonging to the Khoisan family

Usage

When referring to the people the accepted word nowadays is Khoikhoi . Hottentot continues to be used for some animal and plant names, as in Hottentot fig

Other Words From

• Hotten·totic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of Hottentot¹

1670–80; < Afrikaans; origin uncertain

Word History and Origins

Origin of Hottentot¹

C17: from Afrikaans, of uncertain origin

Example Sentences

The change is due to the film’s usage of “Hottentot,” a derogatory term for the Khoikhoi — the traditionally nomadic pastoralist indigenous population of South Africa — originally used by Dutch settlers.

From Salon

The gypsy moth was renamed the spongy moth by the Entomological Society of America last year, and the former Hottentot Teal, a duck, was renamed the Blue-Billed Teal by the American Ornithological Society.

From Los Angeles Times

I just looked at it from the particular standpoint of Black Girl Magic and thought about the Hottentot Venus and the ways that they exploited her was to tell her that her body was magic.

From Salon

He was tarred as a "carpetbagger," and "Hottentot."

From BBC

The eponymous Abbey is a flawed character who in 1884 ventures to Africa with little more on his mind than sex with Hottentot women.

From The Guardian