Matabele

[ mat-uh-bee-lee ]

noun

, plural Mat·a·be·les, (especially collectively) Mat·a·be·le.

1. Ndebele ( def 1 ).

Matabele

/ ˌmætəˈbiːlɪ; -ˈbɛlɪ /

noun

1. -les-le a member of a formerly warlike people of southern Africa, now living in Zimbabwe: driven out of the Transvaal by the Boers in 1837 Now known asNdebele
2. the language of this people, belonging to the Bantu group of the Niger-Congo family

Word History and Origins

Origin of Matabele¹

First recorded in 1815–25

Example Sentences

Are Matabele ants really unique in this respect?

From Science Daily

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

From Literature

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

From Washington Post

In Zimbabwe, the military campaign against the Matabele was known as “Gukurahundi” — a rain that washes away husks after the corn has been reaped.

From Washington Times

This category was expanded beyond the dissidents to include thousands of members of the Matabele people from the same ethnic group as Mr Mugabe's opponent at the time, Joshua Nkomo.

From BBC