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The following slang words used in South African originated in other parts of the Commonwealth of Nations and subsequently came to South Africa. bint – a girl, from Arabic بِنْت. Usually seen as derogatory. buck – the main unit of currency: in South Africa the rand, and from the American use of the word for the dollar.
Besides the standard meaning, in South Africa this is also used for traffic lights. The etymology of the word derives from a description of early traffic lights as robot policemen, which then got truncated with time. [34] rondavel Round free-standing hut-like structure, usually with a thatched roof. [35] rusk
Mzansi - South Africa (uMzantsi is Xhosa for 'south'). Invented by journalist/ editor Thami Masemola while working for the now-defunct South African youth publication Y magazine in 1999. Taken from the isiXhosa words 'Mzantsi Africa', meaning 'South Africa' but without the 't', hence the difference. Mother City - Cape Town; Moz - Mozambique ...
one who takes care of real estate in exchange for rent-free living accommodations * carnival (n.) a street festival typically involving music, dancing and processions (adj.) suggesting a festive atmosphere (n.) a travelling circus or fair (UK: funfair) comprising amusement rides carousel (n.)
An idiom is a common word or phrase with a figurative, non-literal meaning that is understood culturally and differs from what its composite words' denotations would suggest; i.e. the words together have a meaning that is different from the dictionary definitions of the individual words (although some idioms do retain their literal meanings – see the example "kick the bucket" below).
The thesaurus is integrated into the dictionary. Under each definition, various related words are shown, including: Synonyms; Antonyms; Hyponyms ('play' lists several subtypes of play, including 'passion play') Hypernyms ('daisy' is listed as a type of 'flower') Constituents (under 'forest', listed parts include 'tree' and 'underbrush')
sjambok (an ox-hide whip): used by the South African Police Service for riot control, formerly used as a disciplinary tool for misbehaving school children spoor (literally "tracks" or "footprints"): the Afrikaans "spoorweë" refers specifically to the National Train Route, often indirectly as the train-tracks as well.
In 1924, the Oxford University Press published its first version of a South African English dictionary, The South African Pocket Oxford Dictionary. Subsequent editions of this dictionary have tried to take a "broad editorial approach" in including vocabulary terms native to South Africa, though the extent of this inclusion has been contested. [15]