Sotho
/ˈsuːtuː/noun
Sotho refers to a group of closely related Bantu languages and to the peoples who speak them, especially in southern Africa.
Did you know?In Sesotho, the forms Mosotho, Basotho, and Sesotho use Bantu noun-class prefixes to distinguish an individual, a people, and their language.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Bantu period
Proto-Bantu
*ba- and *mu- noun-class prefixes
“Reconstructed Bantu markers broadly associated with plural people and an individual person; these later appear in forms such as Basotho and Mosotho.”
Early Sotho-Tswana period
Sotho-Tswana
*Sotho
“A reconstructed ethnolinguistic name or stem associated with the Sotho-Tswana branch; its deeper lexical meaning is uncertain.”
19th Century
Southern African languages
Mosotho / Basotho
“Mosotho means a Sotho person, while Basotho refers to Sotho people; the terms became prominent in descriptions of the Basotho polity and communities.”
19th Century
Sesotho
Sesotho
“The language name formed with the noun-class prefix se-, conventionally meaning the Sotho language or language associated with the Sotho people.”
19th–20th Century
English
Sotho
“English adopted Sotho as a collective label for the Sotho peoples and their related languages.”
Modern English
English
Sotho
“A broad term commonly used for Southern Sotho, Northern Sotho, or the wider Sotho linguistic and cultural group, depending on context.”