Sesothoadj.n.
/səˈsuːtuː/, /sɛˈsuːtuː/, U.S. /səˈsoʊdoʊ/, South African English /səˈsuːtʊ/, /seˈsuːtʊ/ A. adj.
Of, relating to, or in the Bantu language spoken by the Basotho of central southern Africa. Cf. Basotho adj., Sotho adj.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > languages of the world > African languages > Niger-Kordofanian > [adjective] > of or relating to Bantu languages
Kaffir1588
Kongo1597
Xhosa1812
Amapondo1830
Zulu1839
Sesotho1844
Swahilian1846
Kikuyu1850
Bantu1858
Fan1861
Amandebele1872
Nyamwezi1872
Wagogo1878
Lunda1879
Luganda1882
Sotho1883
Gogo1891
Tonga1891
Chichewa1897
Ronga1897
Bemba1904
Ila1907
Tsonga1907
Meru1908
Chewa1909
Venda1913
Lingala1922
Luba1922
Pedi1922
Nyanja1923
Nguni1929
Ndebele1930
Lobedu1937
Tiv1939
Mongo1961
Siswati1964
1844 Missionary Repository for Youth 6 134 Miss Reed..told us about Beersheba, a station in Africa, and..showed us the first book printed in the Sesuto language.
1883 F. H. Kruger Steps to learn Sesuto Lang. (ed. 2) 1 There are nine signs representing Vowels in the Sesuto orthography.
1884 Encycl. Brit. XVII. 319/1 (note) Their language (a mixed Se-Chuana and Se-Suto dialect).
1896 A. H. Keane Ethnol. 274 Although the invaders have disappeared, their Sesuto language still survives as the current speech throughout the Upper Zambesi basin.
1939 tr. E. N. Marais's My Friends the Baboons vii. 81 From the struggling mass there arose constant laughter, mingled with Sesutu curses of the grossest kind.
1981 D. P. Kunene in tr. T. Mofolo Chaka Introd. p. xxiii I have..translated Mofolo's Sesotho translation of the Zulu as it is in the open text.
2004 P. M. Peek & K. Yankah Afr. Folklore 795 Sesotho refers to the language and any customs of the Basotho. This essay is a discussion of Sesotho riddles.
B. n.
This Bantu language. Cf. Sotho n.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > languages of the world > African languages > Niger-Kordofanian > [noun] > Niger-Congo > Niger-Congo proper languages > Kwa family > Bantu languages
Kaffir1820
Swahilese1833
Sesotho1846
Chagga1849
Kikuyu1849
Mitshi1854
Manganja1859
Bantu1866
Kavirondo1870
Luganda1876
Sotho1876
Fan1883
Gogo1883
Lunda1883
Nyamwezi1883
Kioko1884
Barotse1888
Ganda1891
Tumbuka1891
Chichewa1897
Bemba1902
Nyanja1902
Rwanda1902
Lingala1903
Sepedi1905
Ila1907
Lamba1907
Chewa1908
Venda1908
Ngoni1911
Munchi1913
Meru1921
Yao1924
Lozi1937
Nguni1939
Ndembu1945
Mwera1947
Sango1948
Ovambo1953
Sukuma1969
Tiv1976
1846 J. C. Brown tr. T. Arbousset & F. Daumas Narr. Explor. xxiii. 251 I spoke Sesuto, a dialect which the chief of the place..also understood.
1871 J. Mackenzie Ten Years North of Orange River 492 They [sc. clicks] are found in other African languages, as in Zulu and Kaffir, and a few words in Sesuto.
1916 J. Buchan Greenmantle ix. 120 I spoke rapidly in Sesutu, for I was afraid the captain might know Dutch.
1953 ‘P. Lanham’ & A. S. Mopeli-Paulus Blanket Boy's Moon iv. iii. 208 I am a Mosotho; I love Lesotho; I love my language Sesotho.
1980 J. McClure Blood of Englishman ix. 86 Zondi was fluent in Afrikaans..and Sesuto.
2010 K. Demuth & D. Ellis in J. Guo et al. Crossling. Approaches Psychol. Lang. 93 This chapter..provides insight into the grammatical structure of Sesotho, how it differs from other Bantu languages, [etc.].
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1986; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.n.1844