Standard Lemma guide

Zulu

adj · name · noun · 9 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˈzuːluː/
  • Canada: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -uːluː
  • CMU ARPABET: Z UW1 L UW2 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Pertaining to the Zulu people, culture, or language.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

name

Meaning 2

The language of these people, a Bantu language; isiZulu.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: isiZulu

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

A member of an African ethnic group living mainly in the KwaZulu-Natal Province in eastern South Africa.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

Any black person.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: UK, countable, dated, ethnic, slang, slur, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

Time along the prime meridian; UTC; Zulu time.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Examples

  • Noon MST is 19:00 Zulu.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

Alternative letter-case form of Zulu from the NATO/ICAO Phonetic Alphabet.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: alt-of

Qualifier: international standards

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

noun

Meaning 7

a Bantu language of considerable literary importance in southeastern Africa

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: Nguni

8

noun

Meaning 8

a community of Negroid people in eastern South Africa

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: community

9

noun

Meaning 9

a member of the tall Negroid people of eastern South Africa; some live in KwaZulu-Natal under the traditional clan system but many now work in the cities

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: African

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Zulu umu- Proto-Bantu *ʊ́- Zulu ú- Proto-Bantu *ìgʊ̀dʊ̀ Zulu ī́zulu Zulu úZulu Zulu uḿZuluder. English Zulu Derived from Zulu uḿZulu.

Across languages

Translations

86 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: zulu — pertaining to the Zulu people, culture, or language
  • Dutch: Zoeloe — pertaining to the Zulu people, culture, or language
  • Estonian: suulu — pertaining to the Zulu people, culture, or language
  • Faroese: sulu — pertaining to the Zulu people, culture, or language
  • French: zoulou — pertaining to the Zulu people, culture, or language
  • Galician: zulú — pertaining to the Zulu people, culture, or language
  • German: Zulu- — pertaining to the Zulu people, culture, or language
  • German: zulu- — pertaining to the Zulu people, culture, or language
  • German: zuluisch — pertaining to the Zulu people, culture, or language
  • Greek: Ζουλού (Zouloú) — pertaining to the Zulu people, culture, or language
  • Italian: zulù — pertaining to the Zulu people, culture, or language
  • Polish: zuluski — pertaining to the Zulu people, culture, or language
  • Portuguese: zulu — pertaining to the Zulu people, culture, or language
  • Russian: зулу́сский (zulússkij) — pertaining to the Zulu people, culture, or language
  • Spanish: zulú — pertaining to the Zulu people, culture, or language
  • Swahili: Kizulu — pertaining to the Zulu people, culture, or language
  • Turkish: Zuluca — pertaining to the Zulu people, culture, or language
  • Afrikaans: Zoeloe — language
  • Armenian: զուլու (zulu) — language
  • Armenian: զուլուերեն (zulueren) — language
  • Bulgarian: зулуски (zuluski) — language
  • Catalan: zulu — language
  • Cherokee: ᏑᎷ (sulu) — language
  • Chichewa: Chizulu — language
  • Chinese Mandarin: 祖魯語 /祖鲁语 (Zǔlǔyǔ) — language
  • Dutch: Zoeloe — language
  • Estonian: suulu — language
  • Faroese: sulu — language
  • Finnish: zulu — language
  • French: zoulou — language
  • Galician: zulú — language
  • German: Zulu — language
  • German: Zulusprache — language
  • German: Zuluisch — language
  • German: isiZulu — language
  • Icelandic: súlú — language
  • Italian: zulù — language
  • Japanese: ズールー語 (zūrū-go) — language
  • Maltese: Żulu — language
  • Navajo: Zulu Dineʼé bizaad — language
  • Polish: zulu — language
  • Portuguese: zulu — language
  • Russian: зу́лу (zúlu) — language
  • Russian: зулу́сский (zulússkij) — language
  • Swahili: Kizulu — language
  • Swedish: zulu — language
  • Yiddish: זולו (zulu) — language
  • Zulu: isiZulu — language
  • Afrikaans: Zoeloe — member of the Zulu people
  • Catalan: zulu — member of the Zulu people
  • Dutch: Zoeloe — member of the Zulu people
  • Finnish: zulu — member of the Zulu people
  • French: Zoulou — member of the Zulu people
  • French: Zouloue — member of the Zulu people
  • Galician: zulú — member of the Zulu people
  • German: Zulu — member of the Zulu people
  • Greek: Ζουλού (Zouloú) — member of the Zulu people
  • Italian: zulù — member of the Zulu people
  • Japanese: ズールー人 (zūrū-jin) — member of the Zulu people
  • Manx: Sooloo — member of the Zulu people
  • Polish: Zulus — member of the Zulu people
  • Polish: Zuluska — member of the Zulu people
  • Portuguese: zulu — member of the Zulu people
  • Russian: зулу́с (zulús) — member of the Zulu people
  • Swahili: Mzulu — member of the Zulu people
  • Yiddish: זולו (zulu) — member of the Zulu people
  • Zulu: umZulu class 1/6 — member of the Zulu people
  • Afrikaans: Zoeloe — Zulu people (plural)
  • Bulgarian: зулуси (zulusi) — Zulu people (plural)
  • Catalan: zulu — Zulu people (plural)
  • Chinese Mandarin: 祖魯族人 /祖鲁族人 (Zǔlǔ zúrén) — Zulu people (plural)
  • Chinese Mandarin: 祖鲁人 (zǔlǔrén) — Zulu people (plural)
  • Danish: Zulu — Zulu people (plural)
  • Dutch: Zoeloes — Zulu people (plural)
  • Finnish: zulut — Zulu people (plural)
  • French: Zoulous — Zulu people (plural)
  • Galician: zulú — Zulu people (plural)
  • German: Zulu — Zulu people (plural)
  • German: Zulus — Zulu people (plural)
  • Italian: zulù — Zulu people (plural)
  • Japanese: ズールー族 (zūrū-zoku) — Zulu people (plural)
  • Polish: Zulusi — Zulu people (plural)
  • Portuguese: zulu — Zulu people (plural)
  • Zulu: amaZulu — Zulu people (plural)
  • Finnish: UTC — Zulu time
  • Polish: Zulu — Zulu time