Hutu

noun

Hu·​tu ˈhü-(ˌ)tü How to pronounce Hutu (audio)
plural Hutu or Hutus
: a member of a Bantu-speaking people of Rwanda and Burundi

Examples of Hutu in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Opus Hutu Located between Telluride and Silverton near the top of Ophir Pass in the San Juan Mountains, the Opus Hut was built for backcountry skiers, mountaineers, hikers and mountain bikers. Margaret Jackson, The Denver Post, 13 Nov. 2024 His family with Tatiana is mixed: Hutu and Tutsi, all jumbled up. Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 29 July 2024 The assassination on April 6, 1994, of the Hutu leaders of Rwanda and Burundi — their aircraft was shot down on approach to Kigali airport — triggered the genocide carried out by Hutu extremists against Tutsis and moderate Hutus, which resulted in the loss of more than 800,000 lives. Washington Post Staff, Washington Post, 14 July 2024 In 1994, ethnic Hutu extremists in Rwanda assassinated President Juvénal Habyarimana, triggering genocide against the Tutsi and mass killings of moderate Hutu and other groups. Judd Devermont, Foreign Affairs, 27 June 2024 Deliberate attempts to wipe a people out is, whether Nazis attempt to wipe out all with Jewish blood or Hutu try to wipe out Tutsi in Rwanda. Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 18 May 2024 While many accused Tutsi rebels of killing the two leaders, who were both of Hutu ethnicity, some evidence suggests that Hutu extremists planned the attack as a catalyst for a genocide that had been planned long before. The Week Uk, theweek, 21 Apr. 2024 The killers, for the most part, came from the Hutu majority — some were formally in the military, but many were part of paramilitary organizations called the interahamwe. Tinbete Ermyas, NPR, 13 May 2024 Permanent separation of Hutu and Tutsi seemed the only solution. Jonathan M. Hansen, TIME, 7 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Kinyarwanda & Kirundi (Bantu languages of East Africa)

First Known Use

1952, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of Hutu was in 1952

Dictionary Entries Near Hutu

Cite this Entry

“Hutu.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Hutu. Accessed 23 Dec. 2024.

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