Science, ideas & the arts

ubuntu

Built on the same root as Bantu 'people', Zulu and Xhosa ubuntu means 'humanity': the idea that a person is a person through other people. It entered English as a philosophy in the 20th century.

Weakest linkCertain

The road to English

From Proto-Bantu to Xhosa

From Proto-Bantu to Tswana

From Proto-Bantu to Swahili

From Proto-Bantu to Shona

3000 BCEProto-Bantu

Hops are evenly spaced; labels show the year each form is first attested.

Export “ubuntu”

Embed “ubuntu”

Save “ubuntu”

Export “ubuntu”

Embed “ubuntu”

Save “ubuntu”