Matabele

American  

[mat-uh-bee-lee] / ˌmæt əˈbi li /

noun

plural

Matabeles,

plural

Matabele

1. Ndebele.

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Matabele British  

/ ˌmætəˈbiːlɪ, -ˈbɛlɪ /

noun

1. Now known as: Ndebele.  a member of a formerly warlike people of southern Africa, now living in Zimbabwe: driven out of the Transvaal by the Boers in 1837

2. the language of this people, belonging to the Bantu group of the Niger-Congo family

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Etymology

Origin of Matabele

First recorded in 1815–25

Example Sentences

However, Matabele ants have developed a sophisticated healthcare system: they can distinguish between non-infected and infected wounds and treat the latter efficiently with antibiotics they produce themselves.

From Science Daily • Jan. 2, 2024

In Mozambique, Wilson studied the Matabele ant, a species that favors termites as food.

From Washington Post • Oct. 8, 2020

Matabele ants, native to sub-Saharan Africa, lay siege to the termite colonies they eat by the hundreds, braving the potentially life-threatening bites of large soldier termites that defend them.

From National Geographic • Feb. 13, 2018

Then, in the 1940s, the trade unions formed in Bulawayo were led by shop stewards who also captained the Zimbabwean teams Matabele Highlanders and Red Army.

From The Guardian • May 28, 2015

Unlike her own village, Efifi was a mixture of Shona, Tonga, and Matabele, with one Afrikaner thrown in.

From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer