Dictionary Thesaurus Word Dynamo Quotes Reference Translator Spanish

Soweto

[suh-wee-toh, -wey-]

Origin

noun

a group of townships in NE South Africa, SW of and administered by Johannesburg: constructed in the 1950s and early 1960s to provide housing and services for black Africans. 550,000; 26 sq. mi. (67 sq. km).

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source

Link To Soweto

Collins

World English Dictionary

Soweto (səˈwɛtəʊ, -ˈweɪtəʊ)

—n
	a contiguous group of Black African townships southwest of Johannesburg, South Africa: the largest purely Black African urban settlement in southern Africa: scene of riots (1976) following protests against the use of Afrikaans in schools for Black African children. Area: 62 sq km (24 sq miles). Pop: 858 649 (2001)

[C20: from so(uth) we(st) to(wnship)]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source

Etymonline

Word Origin & History

Soweto

black African community outside Johannesburg, South Africa, formed from first letters of South Western Townships.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source

American Heritage

Cultural Dictionary

Soweto [(suh-wet-oh, suh-way-toh)]

Collective name for a group of townships inhabited by black Africans, located southwest of Johannesburg, South Africa.