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Kaffir prop. Kafir, n. and a.|ˈkæfə(r), ˈkɑːfɪr|
Also kaffer, kaffir, kafir, kaffre; and see caffre.
[a. Arab. kāfir infidel: see caffre.]
A. n.
1. = caffre 1, ‘infidel’, Giaour.
1790J. Bruce Trav. IV. viii. ix. 497 Why did not you tell those black Kafrs..to stay a little longer. 1814Southey Roderick v. 198 A Moor came by, and seeing him [the Goth], exclaimed Ah, Kaffer! worshipper of wood and stone. 1865Daily Tel. 23 Oct. 5/1 Mecca..if the Moslems would permit..a ‘kaffir’ to come there.
2. a. = caffre 2; one of a South African race belonging to the Bântu family. Also attrib., and as the name of their language. Also, usu. disparagingly, with reference to any Black African; transf., as a term of opprobrium, a white man who associates with or is thought to favour Black Africans.
1792E. Riou tr. J. van Reenen's Jrnl. Journey from Cape Good Hope 22 We saw several Kaffers. 1801Monthly Rev. XXXV. 346 The incursions of the tribe of people called Kaffers. 1834Boyce (title) Grammar of the Kaffir Language. 1852Godlonton & Irving Narr. Kaffir War iii. xv. 180 The other teachers..who could speak Kaffir. 1857Chambers's Inform. People II. 294/2 The Kafirs, a race strikingly different both from Hottentots and negroes. The Kafir nation consists of numerous sections. 1890Pall Mall G. 15 May 3/1, I asked questions about the Kafir voter. 1926S. G. Millin S. Africans 209 In the old days..men, thrusting their ancestry, their traditions..completely behind them, became what people sometimes call in South Africa ‘white Kafirs’. They merged themselves with the natives, stayed for ever with the wives they had bought and with their African children. 1949[see Hotnot]. 1949Cape Argus 9 July 3/5 ‘Did you think he was a perfectly reliable person to give information to?’—‘I would have given the statement to a Kaffir if someone had sent a Kaffir along.’ 1959New Statesman 2 May 62/3 How, for instance, does one describe negroid South Africans? The early missionary word ‘kaffir’, meaning heathen, has become a term of abuse. 1960Cape Times 6 Sept. 7 A mob which swore at the police, called them ‘white Kafirs’, and hurled bottles at them. 1961L. van der Post Heart of Hunter i. iii. 62 Kaffir is the term used by Europeans to describe all black people in Africa irrespective of their race and origin. 1967[see coolie, cooly 2 b]. 1973Deb. Senate S. Afr. 17 May 2777 When we..were young people the word ‘kaffir’ meant nothing more than to indicate a Black man... It has deteriorated to such an extent that it offends people with a dark coloured skin and..we try to avoid it. Ibid. 2798, I have heard people when I visit a farm call out ‘Kaffir’ and a wife appears, and he says ‘my kaffir, prepare food for us’..; but, if I called my friend the hon. Senator.., ‘You are a kaffir’, then it has another meaning.
b. pl. The Stock Exchange term for South African mine shares. Also attrib.
1889Rialto 23 Mar. (Farmer), Tintos climbed to 121/4, and even Kaffirs raised their sickly heads. 1895Daily News 2 Apr. 2/2 Dealers in the Kaffir market. 1895Nation (N.Y.) 19 Dec. 451/2 The mines floated on the London Stock Exchange which are classed under the general head of ‘Kaffirs’. 1899H. Frederic Market Place 32 It was one of the men I've been talking about—one of those Kaffir scoundrels.
3. Usu. Kafir. A member of a people inhabiting the Hindu Kush mountains of north-east Afghanistan; Kafir harp, a primitive harp with four or five strings used by this people.
1854Latham Hum. Spec. in Orr's Circle Sc., Organ. Nat. I. 336 Kafiristan, or the Land of the Kafirs..on the water⁓shed between the Oxus and the north-western system of the Indus. Ibid. 338 A Kafir, when sitting on the ground, stretches his legs like a European. 1896Sir G. Robertson (title) Kafirs of the Hindu Kush. 1961A. C. Baines Mus. Instruments 43 In the Kafir harp the lower end of the bow reappears above the skin.
4. attrib. and comb. Kaffir beer, an alcoholic beverage brewed from Kaffir corn by the Black inhabitants of S. Africa; Kaffirboetie |ˈkæfəbuːtiː| S. Afr. [partial tr. Afrikaans Kafferboetie, f. Kaffer Kaffir + boetie little brother], an opprobrious term for a Negrophil; Kaffir-boom [Du. boom tree] = Kaffir-tree; Kaffir bread, the name of several species of South African cycads with edible pith; Kaffir Circus Stock Exchange slang, the body of brokers who operate in ‘Kaffirs’, or the place where they operate; Kaffir corn, Indian millet, Sorghum vulgare; Kaffir crane, a name formerly used for the crowned crane, Balearica pavonina regulorum, which is grey with a tuft of black feathers on top of its head; Kaffir date or plum, or Kaffir's scimitar tree, a South African tree, Harpephyllum caffrum, family Anacardiaceæ; Kaffir finch, fink, the red bishop-bird, Pyromelana oryx, or a closely related bird of the sub-family Ploceinæ; Kaffirland, the land of the Kaffirs; Kaffir lily, a herb of the family Iridaceæ, Schizostylis coccinea, bearing spikes of gladiolus-like flowers; also = clivia; Kaffir (water-)melon, either of two species of melon, Citrullus caffer or C. vulgaris; Kaffir orange, a shrub or small tree of the genus Strychnos, esp. S. pungens, or its fruit; Kaffir piano, a S. African marimba or xylophone; Kaffir pot, an iron cooking-pot usu. on three short metal legs; Kaffir's scimitar tree = Kaffir date above; Kaffir tea, the plant Helichrysum nudifolium; Kaffir('s) tree, a South African leguminous tree, Erythrina caffra; Kaffir truck S. Afr., term applied to small miscellaneous general goods for barter or sale.
1837R. B. Hulley in F. Owen Diary (1926) 174 About a hundred pots filled with *Kaffir beer were brought and placed before the..men. 1905Transvaal Agric. Jrnl. Jan. 314 Kaffir beer, which..is not..a bad drink for natives. 1952L. Marquard Peoples & Policies S. Afr. iv. 101 Africans may..drink kaffir beer. This is a traditional African drink, brewed by African women from fermented kaffir corn and containing a maximum of 2 per cent of alcohol. 1968M. Pyke Food & Society iv. 43 It is a very great error..to assume..that this Kaffir-beer is simply and solely an intoxicating drink.
1939R. F. A. Hoernlé S. Afr. Native Policy p. vii, For a member of the White group to be concerned about the impact of white domination on the non-European population of the Union..is to earn for himself the title of ‘negrophilist’, *kafir-boetie, or—most scathing of all—‘liberal’. 1942P. Abrahams Dark Testament i. xiii. 71 One's got to live. I can't let the other fellows call me a ‘Kaffir boetie’. 1947A. Keppel-Jones When Smuts Goes ii. 20 The disgruntled factions of trade unionists and liberals, Indians and ‘Kafferboeties’, seemed very small fry. 1958N. Gordimer World of Strangers v. 115 You must be Communist or Anti-Communist, Nationalist or Kaffirboetie. 1965Punch 24 Feb. 272/3 Multi-racialists, educationalists, Kafir-boeties.
1827G. Thompson Trav. & Adv. S. Afr. I. i. ii. 18 The stakes of this fence, consisting chiefly of *Caffer-boom (Erythrina Caffra) which grows abundantly in the neighbourhood, had in numerous instances struck root. 1880Silver & Co.'s S. Africa (ed. 3) 135 Kaffir-boom..wood soft and light. 1949Cape Argus 15 Oct. 4/5 The Alexandria forests, red with giant kaffir-booms. 1953J. Packer Apes & Ivory xv. 160 The red flowers of the kaffir-booms flamed in the hard clear light. 1964A. Rothmann Elephant Shrew 19 There was a big clump of wild bananas in this camp, and also two large, spreading kaffirbooms.
1801J. Barrow Acct. Trav. S. Afr. I. iii. 189 The zamia cycadis, or *Kaffer's bread-tree, growing on the plains. 1882Garden 10 June 410/3 Encephalartos, or Kaffir Bread, is a genus confined to South Africa. 1958L. G. Green S. Afr. Beachcomber 14 Beyond the Buffalo River lies the Wild Coast, with the frangipane and kaffir-bread trees growing down to the beaches.
1896M. Donovan Kaffir Circus 96 A big boom is on in the *Kaffir Circus, and Laure's shares are worth {pstlg}15,000. 1901C. Duguid How to read Money Article 121 The market in which they are dealt in the Stock Exchange is often called the ‘Kaffir Circus’. Term does not comprise Rhodesians. 1902Encycl. Brit. XXXII. 865/1 At first..the ‘Kaffre circus’, as it was called, was regarded with contempt by the older habitués of the Stock Exchange. 1928Daily Chron. 9 Aug. 8/6 Otherwise the Kaffir Circus presented a very idle appearance.
1785G. Forster tr. Sparrman's Voy. Cape Good Hope II. x. 10 The kind of corn which they sow, is..known to yield abundantly. The colonists call it *caffer⁓corn. 1792Kaffir corn [see black bean (black a. 19)]. 1836Encycl. Brit. (ed. 7) XII. 659/2 The soil is fertile, and has produced three crops of Kaffre and Indian corn in the year. 1896N. Amer. Rev. CLXIII. 715 Put the land into kafir corn. 1954R. St. John Through Malan's Afr. i. 14 Indian millet is called Kaffir corn. 1973Farmer's Weekly (S. Afr.) 13 June 3 (Advt.), Prevent fallen kaffir corn and other crops from being double cut.
1834A. Smith Diary 15 Nov. (1939) I. 137 Saw several *Caffer cranes. 1853F. Fleming Kaffraria iii. 68 The handsomest of these [birds] to be met with is the Kaffir Crane..a species of the Anthropoides-Pavonia or Crowned-Demoiselle. 1906W. L. Sclater Birds S. Afr. IV. 279 Bugeranus carunculatus. Wattled Crane..sometimes ‘Kaffir Crane’ of Colonists. Ibid. 284 Balearica regulorum. Crowned Crane... ‘Kaffir Crane’ of some.
1822W. J. Burchell Trav. S. Afr. I. i. 20 In the aviary I saw..the *Kaffers Fink. 1834[see fink n.1]. 1844J. Backhouse Narr. Visit Mauritius & S. Afr. xiv. 202 The Caffer Finch of this part of the country is Ploceus spilonotus. 1897,1908[see fink n.1]. 1931Kaffir fink [see bishop-bird]. 1973A. P. Brink Birds 4 You're so cocky. What are you—a kaffir finch?
1821E. Blount Notes on Cape Good Hope 137 A poet of great respectability..was ready to invoke the muse of *Kaffer-land. 1853Househ. Words 11 June 338/1 Let us..see what the noble savage does in Zulu Kaffirland.
1900W. D. Drury Bk. Gardening x. 348 Schizostylis coccinea (Crimson Flag; *Kaffir Lily) is a lovely iridaceous subject with bright crimson gladiolus-like spikes of flower. 1946M. Free All about House Plants xii. 94 Clivia miniata, Kafir Lily. Give only enough water to keep leaves from wilting. 1951Dict. Gardening (R. Hort. Soc.) IV. 1904/1 S[chizostylis] coccinea. Crimson Flag; Kaffir Lily. 1970M. Allan Tom's Weeds ii. 27 A feature of Number 1 greenhouse was the imantophyllum or Kaffir lily, renamed clivea by John Lindley in honour of the Duchess of Northumberland (of Syon House) who was a member of the Clive family.
1886G. A. Farini Through Kalahari Desert xii. 199 Close by were a lot of young gourds growing which Kert said were *Kaffir melons; they were quite unlike our English watermelons; nor were they like a pumpkin. 1950Cape Times 1 June 7/6 The National Parks Board has authorized expenditure on kafir melons with which to feed the elephants in summer-time.
1859R. J. Mann Colony of Natal viii. 159 The ‘*Kafir orange’ of the sea-coast-bush is a ‘strychnos’ and has strychnine in its seeds. 1907T. R. Sim Forests & Forest Flora Cape Good Hope 274 Strychnos spinosa (Kafir Orange..). An evergreen shrub 8–10 feet high, seldom a small tree... Fruit size of an orange, or larger, with rind green when young, yellow when ripe, hard shell, and numerous flat seeds lying in acidulous edible pulp. 1932Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk Medicinal & Poisonous Plants S. Afr. 140 The pulp of the fruit of Strychnos pungens Solered., Wild orange, Kaffir orange..is acidulous from the presence of citric acid, and is very refreshing. 1952S. Cloete Curve & Tusk (1953) xiii. 112 There were patches where the marsala or kaffir orange grew, its round, hard-shelled fruit a favourite dish of the baboon and kudu.
1891Monteiro Delagoa Bay 253 (Pettman), The song had a rapidly played accompaniment on the *Kaffir piano. 1897J. Bryce Impressions S. Afr. xiv. 251 The so-called ‘Kaffir piano’, made of pieces of iron of unequal length fastened side by side in a frame. 1931J. Mockford Khama xxiii. 157 To the throb and wail of these kafir pianos the big-bodied, lusty mine-boys dance freely in two long lines. 1948H. V. Morton In Search of S. Afr. x. 311 A native band was thrumming on ‘Kaffir pianos’, instruments like large xylophones.
1880Silver & Co.'s S. Africa (ed. 3) 139 The *Kaffir Plum..an edible fruit about an inch long.
1896H. A. Bryden Tales of South Africa 260 The kaptein..persuaded the vrouw to follow his own example, and roast wild duck or a joint of springbok in a *Kaffir pot. 1922S. G. Millin Adam's Rest iii. x. 254 Over the fire stood a big black tripod Kaffir-pot. 1959A. Fullerton Yellow Ford xiii. 177, I use a kaffirpot, a three-legged thing made of cast iron.
1851J. J. Freeman Tour S. Afr. xv. 362 One kind hearted woman..prepared a Kaffir meal for us—a pot of sour-milk, some Kaffir corn bread and some *Kaffir tea. 1899G. Russell Hist. Old Durban 96 An indigenous herb both nutritive and refreshing, which is known to us as Kaffir tea. 1949L. G. Green In Land of Afternoon 55 Bush tea is popular in the fashionable cafes of the United States. They call it ‘Kaffir tea’ over there.
1792E. Riou tr. J. van Reenen's Jrnl. Journey from Cape Good Hope 38 We interred the body of our friend, under a large *kaffer-tree standing alone. 1866Treas. Bot. 468/1 Erythrina caffra, the Kaffir-boom of the Dutch, or Kaffir's tree.
1855G. H. Mason Life with Zulus 133 (Pettman), This portion of South Africa is dependent entirely on the P. M. Berg traders for..*caffre truck. 1900J. Robinson Life Time in S. Afr. 279 (Pettman), Glass, beads, knives, scissors, needles,..small looking-glasses—such are the chief staples of Kaffir truck. 1948E. Rosenthal Afr. Switzerland: Basutoland vii. 83 Basuto, who crowd a quaint kiosk loaded with what is called ‘Kaffir Truck’ in South Africa—bangles, beads, mirrors, combs, and the like. 1951D. Lessing This was Old Chief's Country ix. 198 He had gone into town and was down among the kaffir-truck shops buying a supply of aprons for his houseboys.
1832Graham's Town (Cape Province) Jrnl. 1 June 92 All the Caffers..were dispatched forward, that they might get *Caffer water melons to make soup. 1838W. H. Harvey Genera S. Afr. Plants 105 The water-melon of which two colonial species C. Caffer (Kaffir-water-melon) and C. amarus..are described. 1932Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk Medicinal & Poisonous Plants S. Afr. 180 Citrullus vulgaris Schrad is known as Water-melon, Wild water-melon, Kaffir water-melon.
B. adj. S. Afr. slang. Bad, unreliable.
1934‘N. Giles’ Ridge of White Waters ii. vii. 266 ‘Another kaffir bargain!’ said Sir Alfred wearily. 1961Spectator 14 July 53 ‘That was a real Kaffir shot.’..This..was the first time I had come across Kaffir, adj.: bad, clumsy, inferior..etc.
Hence ˈKaffirhood; ˈKaffirize v.
1858Compend. Kafir Laws and Cust., Mount Cope, Brit. Kaffraria 166 A Kafirized form of some tribal name given by the Hottentots. 1877J. A. Chalmers Tiyo Soga xxi. 435 He was disposed to glory in his Kafirhood. |