noun
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taboo (in southern Africa) any Black African
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offensive (among Muslims) a non-Muslim or infidel
Sensitive Note
In reference to a Black person, Kaffir was a neutral term during the colonial period, but in post-apartheid South Africa it is considered hate speech, to be avoided by using the euphemistic K-word, much like the N-word.
Usage
In South Africa the use of this word is nowadays completely taboo, and is indeed actionable in the courts. It is also advisable not to use the word in any of the compounds to which it gave rise
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of Kaffir
First recorded in 1570–80; from Arabic kāfir “unbeliever, skeptic”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
In the tasting room, adorned with vintage family photos, there are about two dozen dark-glass spritz bottles, each labeled hazelnoot, Kaffir lime, oranje-bloesem and an assortment of other fruits, nuts, herbs, flowers and spices.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 18, 2021
Lemon grass, ginger, Kaffir lime leaves or amchur, a tart preserved Indian mango, can have similar brightening effects.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 23, 2015
The Bodia shop sells products that are all natural and use ingredients like lemon grass and Kaffir lime sourced across South East Asia.
From New York Times ● Oct. 22, 2014
He’ll serve it over sticky rice topped with red-curry coconut sauce from a 10-gallon batch and a slaw of Kaffir lime leaf, zucchini, carrots and peanuts, topped with micro-cilantro leaves.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 27, 2014
Considerable trouble was caused by the emigrant Boers on either side of the Orange river, where the new comers, the Basutos and other Kaffir tribes, Bushmen and Griquas contended for mastery.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 2 "Camorra" to "Cape Colony" by Various
On the 22nd of May, our troops and colonists sustained a severe loss by the capture and partial destruction of forty-one waggons in the frightful pass where Colonel Richardson’s affray with the Kaffirs took place.
From The Cape and the Kaffirs A Diary of Five Years' Residence in Kaffirland by Harriet Ward
So earnest, however, were the entreaties of Denham, that El-Khanemy at last sanctioned his accompanying Boo-Khaloum in a "ghrazzie," or plundering expedition against the Kaffirs or infidels.
From Celebrated Travels and Travellers Part III. The Great Explorers of the Nineteenth Century by N. D'Anvers
In 1792 Moravian missions had been established for the benefit of the Hottentots,4 and in 1799 the London Missionary Society began work among both Hottentots and Kaffirs.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 2 "Camorra" to "Cape Colony" by Various
Some 900 of the Kat river Hottentots, who had in former wars been firm allies of the British, threw in their lot with their hereditary enemies—the Kaffirs.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 2 "Camorra" to "Cape Colony" by Various
If now some one were to tell me that the true religion was that of the Kaffirs, or that of the Redskins, I should say, It may well be!
From The Saint by William Roscoe Thayer
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
