The word San originated from the Khoekhoe language. It is not clear what it means; probably it refers to people without cattle or people who forage for their food. It is generally applied to the hunting and gathering peoples of southern Africa who are descended from the original humans in this region of Africa.
The term San came into use along with the word Khoesan in the late 1920s and 1930s. The terms were coined by Leonhard Schulze and promoted in the English speaking world by Isaac Schapera.
Previously San people had been referred to by different names: Soaqua (also a Khoe word), Bosjesmanne, Bushmen, Basarwa, Batwa, Abathwa, Baroa and so forth. San people had names for themselves, such as |Xam-ka-!e (the Karoo San), N||n‡e (southern Kalahari San), ||Xegwi (North Drakensberg San), etc. In the N|u language, spoken by the N||n‡e people, the word for San hunter-gatherers is Sasi. This word may have had the same origin as the word San, but it also refers to the sacred eland antelope.
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