Ma·ta·be·le

(mä′tə-bĕl′ā)

n. pl. Matabele or Ma·ta·be·les

[Sotho Matebele, pl. of Letebele, member of the Zulu warrior contingents entering Sotho territory during upheavals in the 19th century : le-, sing. n. pref. + -tebele (perhaps from teba, to sink down (in reference to a Zulu battle technique in which warriors would sink down or crouch behind their distinctive large shields), or thebe, shield).]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Matabele

(ˌmætəˈbiːlɪ; -ˈbɛlɪ)

npl -les or -le

1. (Peoples) a member of a formerly warlike people of southern Africa, now living in Zimbabwe: driven out of the Transvaal by the Boers in 1837. Now known as: Ndebele

2. (Languages) the language of this people, belonging to the Bantu group of the Niger-Congo family

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

Matabele - a Bantu language sometimes considered a dialect of Zulu

Ndebele

Nguni - a group of southern Bantu languages

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References in classic literature

Imagination has been verified by fact; the King Solomon's Mines I dreamed of have been discovered, and are putting out their gold once more, and, according to the latest reports, their diamonds also; the Kukuanas or, rather, the Matabele, have been tamed by the white man's bullets, but still there seem to be many who find pleasure in these simple pages.

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Maxim's gun proved utterly reliable and was adopted by the British, with whom it first saw action during the 1893 First Matabele War in South Africa.

THE MODEL 1909 BENET-MERCIE MACHINE RIFLE, PART 1: THE U.S. ARMY'S FIRST LIGHT MACHINE GUN

Tra i Matabele l'amuleto per la pioggia usato dagli stregoni era fatto col sangue e con la bile di un bove nero.

II linguaggio del sangue nelle culture tradizionali

The ticket lady gave me two choices, the rattler which cost the same as a matabele cocoa bean and takes two lifetimes to get to Wolverhampton, or The Branson rocket ship which costs another mortgage and travels at warp factor three.

Visit to London the stuff of nightmares; Get in touch - tell us what you think Email: letters@birminghammail.co.uk Twitter: @birminghammail Facebook: facebook.com/birminghammail Post: Birmingham Mail, 60 Church Street, Birmingham B3 2DJ

Scientists from Wurzburg University in Germany found African Matabele ants carried creature that had lost limbs in fights with termites home and licked their injuries.

It's Florants Nightingale; Insects treat their wounded comrades

Scientists at Wurzburg University in Germany found that after fights with termites, African matabele ants carried soldiers that had lost limbs home and licked their injuries.

Ants carry injured pals back to nest

The economy is hostage to Chinese State owned companies beholding to Beijing and tribal tensions between the Matabele and Shona people that predate even the arrival of Cecil Rhodes, let alone Ian Smith.

Greed and fear in the global stock market

Scientists described the unique rescue behavior of the African Matabele ants, called Megaponera analis, after observing them in Ivory Coast's Comoe National Park, but did not ascribe charitable motives to the insects.

Ants march into battle and rescue their wounded comrades

The Matabele Times and Mining Journal, 11 March and 6 May 1899.

Sic utere tuo ut alienam non laedas. From wanton destruction of timber forests to environmentalism: The rise of colonial environmental and 'sustainability' practices in colonial Zimbabwe, 1938-1961