Ndebele

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Nde·be·le

(ən′də-bĕl′ā)
n. pl. Ndebele or Nde·be·les
1. A member of a Zulu people of southwest Zimbabwe.
2. The Nguni language of the Ndebele, closely related to Zulu spoken in South Africa. In both senses also called Matabele.

[Ndebele -Ndebele (as in amaNdebele, Ndebele people, and isiNdebele, Ndebele language); perhaps akin to Sotho Matebele, Zulu peoples entering Sotho territories in the 19th century; see Matabele.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Ndebele

(ənˈdɛbɛle)
npl Ndebele
1. (Peoples) a member of a Negroid people of Zimbabwe. See also Matabele
2. (Languages) the language of this people, belonging to the Bantu grouping of the Niger-Congo family
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun 1. Ndebele - a Bantu language sometimes considered a dialect of Zulu
Nguni - a group of southern Bantu languages
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
References in periodicals archive ?
The absence and demise of the Ndebele father is particularly telling of the manner in which Gukurahundi sought to remove Ndebeles from authority.
Most incendiary among the ZANU politicians was party founder--himself Ndebele--Enos Nkala, who called the dissidents "Ndebeles who were calling for a second war of liberation" (Alexander et al.
Centering primarily in Matabeleland, home of the Ndebeles who were PF-ZAPU's main followers, this dissidence continued through 1987 and involved attacks on government personnel and installations, armed banditry aimed at disrupting security and economic life in the rural areas, and harassment of ZANU-PF members.
Although mosaics of ethnicities make up most countries in sub-Saharan Africa, there are only two main groups in Zimbabwe: 70% of those surveyed self-identified themselves as Shonas and 28% identified themselves as Ndebeles. The poll findings reveal that regardless of ethnicity, Mugabe's job approval is low: 18% of Shonas and 16% of Ndebeles told Gallup they approved of the job performance of their president, who is a Shona.
Historically, Ndebeles from Zimbabwe are Zulus who migrated during the reign of the illustrious King Shaka in the 19th century, under the leadership of his fallen general, Mzilikazi.
I see the people of Zimbabwe not as supporters of ZANU-PF or as Shonas or Ndebeles. I see them as a nation, all of us together.
Troops from his majority Shona tribe launched a long campaign of terror against the minority Ndebeles in 1982.
Eighty percent of the population are Shonas (a cultural-linguistic group), 15% are Ndebeles, and 5% Asians, Whites and others.