Collective term for the Khoikhoin and San peoples of southern Africa and their languages. The Khoisan languages are click languages spoken in southern Africa. The term Khoisan was created to refer to the related peoples known as Bushmen and Hottentots (i.e., the Khoisanid peoples) under a common name and has become increasingly accepted since its creation in 1928. The word is derived from Khoikhoi and San, the names of the peoples called, respectively and pejoratively, Hottentots and Bushmen.