Umuntu
/ùˈmúːntù/noun
A person or human being, especially in isiZulu and related Nguni languages.
Did you know?Umuntu is the singular counterpart of abantu in isiZulu, the source of the word Bantu, while Ubuntu comes from the same wider Bantu root for personhood and humanity.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Bantu
Proto-Bantu
*-ntu
“Person or human being”
Early Bantu
Bantu
*mu-ntu
“A person; the prefix *mu- marked a singular human noun”
Precolonial period
Nguni
umuntu
“A person or human being”
19th Century
isiZulu
umuntu
“A person, human being, or individual”
Modern English
English
umuntu
“A borrowed term used mainly in linguistic, cultural, and philosophical contexts for a person or human being”