Where does “umunthu” come from?

umunthu (Chichewa) comes from Chichewa munthu, from Proto-Bantu *mʊ̀ntʊ̀, from Proto-Atlantic-Congo *-nintu — person.

umunthu (Chichewa): humanity, humanness, ubuntu

Definitions

  1. humanity, humanness, ubuntu

Ancestry of “umunthu”, step by step

umunthu traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Chichewa munthu

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Chichewamunthuperson, human being
2Proto-Bantu*mʊ̀ntʊ̀—
3Proto-Atlantic-Congo*-nintuperson

via Chichewa u

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Chichewau—
Every word from Proto-Atlantic-Congo *-nintu →Every word from Proto-Bantu *mʊ̀ntʊ̀ →Every word from Chichewa munthu →