Transvaal

American  

[trans-vahl, tranz-] / trænsˈvɑl, trænz- /

noun

1. a province in the northeastern part of the Republic of South Africa. 110,450 sq. mi. (286,066 sq. km). Pretoria.

---

Transvaal British  

/ trænzˈvɑːl /

noun

1. former province of NE South Africa: colonized by the Boers after the Great Trek (1836); became a British colony in 1902; joined South Africa in 1910; replaced in 1994 for administrative purposes by a new system of provinces (Eastern Transvaal (later Mpumalanga), Northern Transvaal (later Limpopo), Gauteng, and North West province). Capital: Pretoria

---

Other Word Forms

• Transvaaler
  noun
• Transvaalian
  adjective

Example Sentences

However, Goodall's Lions career did not last long after he broke a bone in his hand during his first game against Eastern Transvaal and had to return home.

From BBC • Dec. 23, 2025

In 1909, the British Cape Colony, Natal, and the Boer republics of Transvaal and the Orange Free State had been combined to form a self-governing dominion within the British Empire.

From Textbooks • Dec. 14, 2022

Desmond Mpilo Tutu was born in 1931 in a small gold-mining town in what was then the Transvaal.

From BBC • Dec. 26, 2021

Mr. de Klerk served as one of Botha’s right-hand men for more than a decade as party leader in the Transvaal, the northern province that was part of the Afrikaner heartland.

From Washington Post • Nov. 11, 2021

He was a key member of the Transvaal Indian Youth Congress and had heard I was opposed to the May Day strike.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela