a·part·heid 
(ə-pärthīt′, -hāt′)
(ə-pärthīt′, -hāt′)n.
1. An official policy of racial segregation formerly practiced in the Republic of South Africa, involving political, legal, and economic discrimination against nonwhites.
2. A policy or practice of separating or segregating groups.
3. The condition of being separated from others; segregation.
[Afrikaans : Dutch apart, separate (from French à part, apart; see APART) + Dutch -heid, -hood.]