o- (bu/-) humanity; manhood, with the -a of rel. humane. Okuwanika omuntu ku kalabba si kya buntu. It is not humane to hang a man on the gallows, eby'obuntu, human nature, mu buntu, in person, personally. okuddamu ak'obuntu, to recover one's composure. Muntu buntu. He is a mere man. buntu is also the plural of kantu, small thing. From the root -ntu are also derived omuntu, ekintu, akantu, etc.
o- (bu/-) a very broad concept implying the possession of courtesy, compassion, good breeding, culture, etc. The editorial writers o/Munno have in the past dedicated considerable space to the definition of the word. cf. obuntu, omuntu bulamu.
o- various things, a variety of things; little things, cf. akantu, bu- (3), ekintu.
n., obuntu.
a bantu; h. nature, obuntubulamu.
e- (ki/bi) thing (physical object); thing, matter, affair, plur. ebintu things; belongings, possessions, wealth. Si kintu. It doesn't matter, okusala ebintu ku muwala, to set a dowry for one's daughter, i.e., the amount given by the groom to the parents of the bride, okugwa mu bintu, to hit it lucky, have a streak of good luck (by acquiring position, wealth, etc.). cf. obuntuntu, akantu, oluntu.
e-: eby'ekintukiramu, kind/humane actions, mu ngeri ya kintukiramu, in a kind way. cf. obuntubulamu, omuntumulamu.
obuzaaliranwa, obuwangwa, obuntu.
e- (li/ma) position; place, compartment; stage, level; shelf; drawer, essa ery'obuntu, the human situation, the state of humanity, c/. -^ssa.
o- (mu/ba) well-bred person; humane person, omusajja omuntumulamu, a gentleman in every sense of the word. cf. obuntubulamu, kintukiramu.
o- (mu/ba) person, human being, man; in the plur. abantu people, omuntu obuntu, an ordinary person, the average person, a mere mortal, mu bifo by'abantu bonna, in public places. Bantu mannyo ga mpisi, gaseka kungulu, nga munda mu- limu bussi. (prov.) People are like the teeth of hyenas which outwardly are laughing, but on the inside are filled with murder, cf. obuntu.