kraal

or craal

[krahl]

noun

an enclosure for cattle and other domestic animals in southern Africa.
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.
such a village as a social unit.

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

verb (used with object)

to shut up in a krall, as cattle.

Origin of kraal

1725–35; < Afrikaans < Portuguese curral pen; see corral

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for kraal

Historical Examples of kraal

He lost it, as the brigadier had foreseen, in the vicinity of Abraham's Kraal.
On the Heels of De Wet
The Intelligence Officer
The Kaffirs of the kraal we had impressed to assist at once.
The Defence of Duffer's Drift
Ernest Dunlop Swinton
We saw a Kaffir kraal on a hill, and to us "it was nothing more."
The Defence of Duffer's Drift
Ernest Dunlop Swinton
We must take the child to the kraal, and give it up to them.
The Giraffe Hunters
Mayne Reid
The lion was traced to a grove of trees, about a mile and a half from the kraal.
The Giraffe Hunters
Mayne Reid

British Dictionary definitions for kraal

kraal

noun

a hut village in southern Africa, esp one surrounded by a stockade
an enclosure for livestock

adjective

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

verb

(tr) to enclose (livestock) in a kraal

Word Origin for kraal

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

Word Origin and History for kraal

"village, pen, enclosure," 1731, South African, from colonial Dutch kraal, from Portuguese curral (see corral).