Khoisan

Meanings

proper noun

alternative Khoi-San

The group of languages associated with the Khoisan including the Khoi, Kx'a and Tuu families, sometimes to the inclusion of the Hadza and Sandawe language isolates of Tanzania.

nounKhoisan (plural Khoisans or Khoisan)

plural Khoisans · alternative Khoi-San

A member of the group of non-Bantu Southern African indigenous people: the Khoi or San people.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounnomadic hunters and gatherers who live in southern Africa

Similar

Bushman

Broader

nomad

nouna family of languages spoken in southern Africa

Similar

Khoisan language

Broader

natural language tongue

Also see

bushman

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

From Khoi + San, from the pastoral Khoi tribe (formerly also called Hottentots) and the hunter-gatherer San (also known as Bushmen). Coined by Isaac Schapera in 1930, in linguistic usage since the 1950s (following Joseph Greenberg, Studies in African Linguistic Classification, 1955).

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Dutch Khoisan

Khoisanperson

Finnish khoisankielet, khoisan

khoisankieletlanguage group
khoisanperson

French Khoisan

Khoisanlanguage group

Irish Cadhsainis

Cadhsainislanguage group

Japanese コイサン諸語, コイサン語

コイサン諸語 (koisansyogo)language group
コイサン語 (koisango)language group

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

shikona

Cite this entry

APA

Khoisan. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Khoisan

MLA

“Khoisan.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Khoisan. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Khoisan,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Khoisan.

Source: Khoisan on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.