English word origin

Etymology of San

As a synonym of Bushmen introduced into ethnology from the 1960s, from Khoekhoe saan (singular saa) "foragers; people without wealth", via back-formation from Khoisan. Occasional citation as the Nama term for "Bushmen" f

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗

noun

Any of the foraging non-Bantu ethnic groups of southwestern Africa.

name

Any of the languages spoken by these people.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Derivation mentionsaannaq

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "naq",
        "3": "saan"
      },
      "expansion": "Khoekhoe saan"
    },
    {
      "name": "bf",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "Khoisan",
        "nocap": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "back-formation from Khoisan"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "Bushmen",
      "Bushmen#English"
    ],
    [
      "saan",
      "saan#Khoekhoe"
    ],
    [
      "saa",
      "saa#Khoekhoe"
    ],
    [
      "Khoisan",
      "Khoisan#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Any of the foraging non-Bantu ethnic groups of southwestern Africa."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "ethnic",
        "offensive",
        "plural",
        "plural-only",
        "regional",
        "slur"
      ],
      "recordId": "05e1572f01f286bd083cec2003fd9bce127d42c43769daf02fa41767875ae6c7",
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      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 332641
    },
    {
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      "glosses": [
        "Any of the languages spoken by these people."
      ],
      "tags": [],
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      "rawRecordSha256": "187959feec45b87d3d78a636b04ce468de095a12a362e21af7e6bbaaf8d50b17",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 332642
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
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    "lexicalRecords": 0,
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  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

name

A river in southeastern Poland and western Ukraine.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Borrowed from Polish San.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":bor",
        "3": "pl:San",
        "text": "+",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "[Appendix:Glossary#loanword|Borrowed]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Polish\", \"term\" : \"San\", \"status\" : \"ambiguous\", \"lang\" : \"pl\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"San\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"San\">\nBorrowed from Polish San."
    },
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":bor",
        "3": "pl:San",
        "text": "+",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Borrowed from Polish San."
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "San",
      "San#Polish"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "name",
      "glosses": [
        "A river in southeastern Poland and western Ukraine."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "5e284a978b083616e89cb2bcef5c2337342783792c7912e4dc5fc54e05ad0d97",
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  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for San →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger

Machine-source provenance

Source SHA-256: 5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run: 73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID: w-U2Fu