kraal

or craal

[ krahl ]

/ krɑl /

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.

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to say or do hesitantly or awkwardly

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Origin of kraal

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

Words nearby kraal

kpelle, kph, kr, kr., kra, kraal, krabbe's disease, kraepelin, krafft-ebing, kraft, kragujevac

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for kraal

No wonder there was anxiety that night in the kraal of the field-cornet.
The Bush Boys|Captain Mayne Reid
With my eyes blazing from my head, I cried aloud the whole story of our attack upon the kraal.
The King's Assegai|Bertram Mitford
The people of the kraal with all possible speed flew to her help, and succeeded in releasing her, but apparently too late.
The World of Waters|Mrs. David Osborne
When this was spent he would hop back to his place near the kraal, yelling all the while.
Adventures in Swaziland|Owen Rowe O'Neil

The grain is buried here in pits beneath the kraal; grain will not burn in pits, it can only be destroyed by drowning.
The Matabele Campaign|R. S. S. Baden-Powell

British Dictionary definitions for kraal

kraal

/ (krɑːl) Southern African /

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