# Khoisan

> English word · Proper noun · IPA /ˈkɔɪsɑːn/

## Definitions
1. 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.

## Etymology
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).

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/khoisan