Luvale
/luːˈvɑːleɪ/noun
A Bantu language and the name of the Luvale people of Angola and Zambia.
Did you know?Luvale is also called Chiluvale, using the Bantu language prefix chi-, which commonly means “language of” or identifies a language variety.
Etymological Timeline
Precolonial period
Bantu
*—
“Luvale belongs to the Bantu branch of the Niger-Congo language family; no securely reconstructed Proto-Bantu form for the ethnic name is established.”
19th Century
Luvale
Chiluvale
“A documented indigenous name for the Luvale language, formed with chi-, a common Bantu language-classifying prefix.”
19th–20th Century
Portuguese/English records
Luvale
“European records used Luvale as the name of the people and their language in regions of present-day Angola and Zambia.”
20th Century
English
Luvale
“English-language ethnographic and linguistic writing established Luvale as the conventional name for the language and ethnic group.”
Modern English
English
Luvale
“A proper noun referring primarily to the Luvale people or their Bantu language.”