apartheid

American  

[uh-pahr-tahyt, -teyt] / əˈpɑr taɪt, -teɪt /

noun

1. (in the Republic of South Africa) a rigid former policy of segregating and economically and politically oppressing the nonwhite population.

2. any system or practice that separates people according to color, ethnicity, caste, etc.

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apartheid British  

/ əˈpɑːthaɪt, -heɪt /

noun

1. (in South Africa) the official government policy of racial segregation; officially renounced in 1992

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apartheid Cultural  

1. The racist policy (see racism) of South Africa that long denied blacks and other nonwhites civic, social, and economic equality with whites. It was dismantled during the 1990s. (See Nelson Mandela.)

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Usage

What is Apartheid? Apartheid refers to the system of racist segregation and political and economic oppression enacted and upheld by white people in South Africa to deny Black and other nonwhite people equal rights. Apartheid became the official policy of South Africa in 1948 (though racist segregation policies had been employed before that). It was officially in place until the early 1990s, when it was begun to be dismantled after decades of resistance from Black and other nonwhite South Africans—notably Nelson Mandela and Steve Biko, among many others—and sanctions and pressure from the international community. Apartheid, spelled with a capital A, is most commonly used to refer specifically to South African Apartheid. The lowercase form, apartheid, is used in a more general way to refer to any system that segregates people based on certain characteristics, such as skin color, ethnicity, or caste.

Other Word Forms

• antiapartheid
  noun

Etymology

Origin of apartheid

First recorded in 1945–50; from Afrikaans apart apart + -heid -hood

Explanation

Apartheid was a racist political policy in South Africa demanding segregation of the nation's white and non-white populations. During South African apartheid, more than three million black citizens were forced to move from their homes to segregated neighborhoods. The law of apartheid came into being with the South African election in 1948. So it makes sense that the word's history goes back to that date, from the Afrikaans word for "separateness." It comes from the Dutch, with the "heid" part meaning "hood," for "apart-hood." The word denotes a policy that oppressed people based solely on their skin color. The system was formally ended in 1993.

Example Sentences

A spokesperson for the group behind the sit-ins, called No Tech for Apartheid, said they were not involved with Tuesday’s protest.

From Los Angeles Times • May 14, 2024

Who thought Apartheid in South Africa would end with Nelson Mandela becoming President, except for a few people?

From Salon • Aug. 11, 2023

It was revealed that 16 English players had signed up for a rebel tour of South Africa - banned from international sport because of Apartheid.

From BBC • May 18, 2023

Gregory Maqoma I only discovered the African Choir when the exhibition came to the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg in 2018.

From New York Times • Mar. 16, 2023

Apartheid, was a new term but an old idea.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

Related Words

• discrimination
• racism