kraal

or craal

[ krahl ]

noun
  1. an enclosure for cattle and other domestic animals in southern Africa.

  2. a village of the Native peoples of South Africa, usually surrounded by a stockade or the like and often having a central space for livestock.

  1. such a village as a social unit.

  2. an enclosure where wild animals are exhibited, as in a zoo.

verb (used with object)
  1. to shut up in an enclosure or pen, as cattle.

Origin of kraal

1
First recorded in 1725–35; from Afrikaans, from Portuguese curral “pen”; see corral

Words Nearby kraal

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use kraal in a sentence

  • They had come down from the kraal to enjoy the sport and get some of the meat, of which they are particularly fond.

    Hunting the Lions | R.M. Ballantyne
  • Yis, all alone, sept de two tousand Caffres ob de kraal; but dey is nobody—only black beasts.

    Hunting the Lions | R.M. Ballantyne
  • Then after a consultation among themselves, one of the men turned and went into the kraal again.

    Forging the Blades | Bertram Mitford
  • After dinner I walked over to a Kaffir kraal and bought fuel, and two infants' copper bangles.

    In the Ranks of the C.I.V. | Erskine Childers
  • Most of the inhabitants of the kraal had retired within the huts, for there was a chill feeling in the air.

    Forging the Blades | Bertram Mitford

British Dictionary definitions for kraal

kraal

/ (krɑːl) Southern African /


noun
  1. a hut village in southern Africa, esp one surrounded by a stockade

  2. an enclosure for livestock

adjective
  1. denoting or relating to the tribal aspects of the Black African way of life

verb
  1. (tr) to enclose (livestock) in a kraal

Origin of kraal

1
C18: from Afrikaans, from Portuguese curral pen; see corral

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012