Boer

[ bawr, bohr, boo r; Dutch boor ]

/ bɔr, boʊr, bʊər; Dutch bur /

noun

a South African of Dutch extraction.

adjective

of or relating to the Boers.

Origin of Boer

1825–35; < Afrikaans < Dutch: peasant, farmer. See boor

Can be confusedboar Boer boor bore

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for boers

You know what a short distance it was, and by going very slowly I passed two others where the Boers were sitting outside talking.
A Dash from Diamond City|George Manville Fenn
Ostrich farming is not only an interesting industry for the Boers, but it is a most lucrative business.
The World and Its People: Book VII|Anna B. Badlam
They point out that we stopped them from helping us, and that, had we not done so, the Boers would have been easily put down.
South Africa and the Transvaal War, Vol. 1 (of 6)|Louis Creswicke
Placing these in front of the soldiers, they shot beneath the women's arms upon the approaching Boers.
The War in South Africa|Arthur Conan Doyle

I had to turn them loose and take these mules or I should have been killed or captured by the Boers.
War's Brighter Side|Julian Ralph.

British Dictionary definitions for boers

Boer

/ (bʊə, ˈbəʊə, bɔː) /

noun, adjective

a descendant of any of the Dutch or Huguenot colonists who settled in South Africa, mainly in Cape Colony, the Orange Free State, and the Transvaal
(as modifier)a Boer farm

Word Origin for Boer

C19: from Dutch Boer; see boor

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

Word Origin and History for boers

Boer

"Dutch colonist in South Africa," 1824, from Dutch boer "farmer," from Middle Dutch, cognate with Old English gebur "dweller, farmer, peasant," and thus related to bower, German Bauer, and the final syllable of neighbor (see boor). Boer War (1899-1902) was technically the Second Boer War, there having been a brief preview 1880-1881.

Culture definitions for boers

Boers

[ (bohrz, bawrz, boorz) ]

Dutch settlers in South Africa, also known as Afrikaners. The Boers were repeatedly driven further inland by British settlers; the British finally defeated them in the Boer War of 1899–1902. Boer is Dutch for “farmer.”