Venda, noun and & adjective
- Forms:
- Show more singular Movenda, Muvenda; singular and plural Venda; plural Bavenda, Bawenda, HaVenda, Mavenda, Vavenda, Vendas, Vhavenda.
- Plurals:
- usually unchanged, Vendas, Bavenda.
- Origin:
- VendaShow more A Venda noun stem found in such words as Muvenda a member of the Venda people (plural Vhavenda), Tshivenda the Venda language, Venda the area inhabited by the Venda. The origin of the stem is not known.
A. noun
1.
a. A member of an African people living mainly in the Soutpansberg region of the Northern Transvaal (now Limpopo). Also attributive.
1892 W.L. Distant Naturalist in Tvl 107The Mavenda Kafirs are a branch of the Makatese, and closely allied to the Basutos.
1990 [see sense B].
b. comb.
Vendaland, the area occupied by the Venda people; Vendastan, see -stan.
- Note:
- An area in the northern part of the former Transvaal was intended as a ‘homeland’ for Vendas; granted a form of self-government in 1973, it became the Republic of Venda in 1979. The area was re-incorporated into South Africa in 1994. See also TBVC.
1971 S. Afr. Panorama Nov. 11In Vendaland the ‘watchdogs had been tied up’ — the Venda way of assuring their honoured guests that they were welcome.
2. Also Chivenda, Tshivenda. The language of the Venda people, being one of the Sintu (Bantu) languages. Also attributive.
1908 [see sense 1 a].
1993 Weekend Post 9 Oct. 9If this letter is anything to go by, multi-lingualism, including North and South Sotho, Swazi, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, [etc.]..is out.
B. adjective Of or pertaining to the Venda people.
1913 H.A. Junod Life of S. Afr. Tribe II. 327There is a third tradition relating to the first man, but it has..been borrowed from the Venda or Pedi tribes.
1990 A. Goldman in Motorist 4th Quarter 4Before the HaVenda people moved down from East Africa, the Bushmen lived in this part of the world. They were driven out by the aggressive HaVenda.

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