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
One of those former refugees, Hue Kim, 75, now spends her weekends selling Kaffir lime leaves, rosemary and other herbs on the sidewalk just a few feet from Ms. Nguyen’s bubble tea shop.
From New York Times ● Nov. 8, 2017
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
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
They did this thoroughly until a faint rustle in the wood made them look round, and then a child’s voice close behind the group gave the Kaffir salutation “Makos!”
From The Outspan Tales of South Africa by Fitzpatrick, Percy, Sir
The greater part of 1835 was occupied in repelling an unprovoked invasion of the eastern borders of the colony by Xosa Kaffirs.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 8 "Dubner" to "Dyeing" by Various
As regards the swallowing performances of Saturn, they find analogues in tales among the Australians, among the Red Indians, among the natives of British Guiana, and among the Kaffirs.
From Storyology Essays in Folk-Lore, Sea-Lore, and Plant-Lore by Taylor, Benjamin
The Yeomanry Corps being thus divided, the numbers of the foe unknown, and the sun just setting, it was deemed imprudent to attempt the capture of Mr Norden’s remains from the Kaffirs at that moment.
From The Cape and the Kaffirs A Diary of Five Years' Residence in Kaffirland by Ward, Harriet
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 Thayer, William Roscoe
In the latter part of the eighteenth century we have the clash of the Hottentots and Bechuana, followed in the nineteenth century by the terrible wars of Chaka, the Kaffirs, and Matabili.
From The Negro by Du Bois, W. E. B. (William Edward Burghardt)
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.
