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.

Nearby words

kph, kr, kr., kra, kra, isthmus of, kraal, krabbe's disease, kraepelin, kraepelin, emil, krafft-ebing, kraft

Origin of kraal

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

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

Examples 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

Word Origin and History for kraal

kraal

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