(复同单, 或Bantus)
1
- a member of an extensive group of indigenous peoples of central and southern Africa（中南非的）班图人。
2
- mass noun the group of Niger-Congo languages spoken by these peoples, including Swahili, Xhosa, and Zulu班图语（包括斯瓦希里语、科萨语和祖鲁语）。
- of or relating to these peoples or their languages班图人的; 班图语的。
USAGE
The word Bantu became a strongly offensive term under the old apartheid regime in South Africa， especially when used to refer to a single individual. In standard current use in South Africa the term black or African is used as a collective or non-specific term for African peoples. The term Bantu has， however， continued to be accepted as a neutral 'scientific' term outside South Africa used to refer to the group of languages and their speakers collectively.
词源
plural (in certain Bantu languages) of -ntu 'person'.