Ambundu
/æmˈbʊn.duː/noun
A Bantu-speaking people of north-central Angola, especially associated with the Kimbundu language.
Did you know?The Ambundu’s language, Kimbundu, was historically linked to Luanda and became one of the major African languages encountered by Portuguese missionaries and traders.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Bantu period
Proto-Bantu
*ba-
“A plural human-class prefix reconstructed for many Bantu languages; it is often reflected in names for peoples.”
Precolonial period
Kimbundu
Mbundu
“The ethnonym used for the Mbundu people; the deeper meaning and original root of mbundu are uncertain.”
16th–17th Century
Portuguese
Ambundu
“A Portuguese rendering of the plural ethnonym for the Mbundu people in Angola.”
19th Century
English
Ambundu
“An English ethnographic name for the people, adopted through Portuguese and colonial-era geographical writing.”
Modern English
English
Ambundu
“A term for the Mbundu people of Angola, also called Northern Mbundu.”