Word origins

• boereworsA type of sausage, usually flavoured with coriander seed, black pepper, nutmeg, cloves and allspice.
• boetA brother; often prefixed informally to a man’s first name.
• boetiebrother
• bokkomSalted dried fish (normally mullet), a traditional delicacy of the West Coast of South Africa.
• bokmakierieA shrike endemic to Southern Africa, with olive upper parts, a yellow underside, and a deep black gorget.
• bonsellaIn a transaction, something extra on the side.
• bontequaggaSynonym of Burchell's zebra.
• boomdasThe southern tree hyrax, Dendrohyrax arboreus.
• bosberaadA strategic meeting held in a private venue, less commonly outdoors, such as those to try resolve a political deadlock.
• braaivleisBraai meat.
• brakslaaiAny of certain mesembryanthemums.
• bredieA thick stew of meat and vegetables.
• broekieswomen's underwear; panties; knickers
• crombecAny of several small passerine birds in the genus Sylvietta.
• dankieThanks.
• dassieA small, herbivorous mammal in the order Hyracoidea, the rock hyrax.
• dassiepishyraceum: the solidified urine of a dassie, used in folk medicine to treat epilepsy.
• Die StemThe Call of South Africa
• dikkopA bird of the family Burhinidae.
• disselboomOne of the poles supporting a wagon.
• doekA cloth.
• domkopdummkopf; idiot; dunce
• domsiekteA disease of sheep, mainly pregnant ewes, characterized by emaciation and turning round in circles; pregnancy toxemia, sheep pregnancy ketosis.
• donderTo beat up, to thrash.
• draadsitterA fence sitter.
• droeworsA kind of dried sausage similar to boerewors.
• dronkgrasMelica decumbens
• dubbeltjieTribulus zeyheri, a species of plant known for its sharp thorns.
• dunsiekteRagwort (Senecio) poisoning in horses.
• dwaalA dreamy, dazed, absent-minded, or befuddled state
• einaOuch! (an exclamation of pain)
• entjieA cigarette.
• frikkadelA traditional Afrikaner dish of baked (or sometimes deep-fried) meatballs prepared with onion, bread, eggs, vinegar, and spices.
• gatvolCompletely fed up; very upset.
• geelbeckSynonym of geelbeck croaker.
• geeldikkoptribulosis
• geelhoutA broad-leaved yellowwood (Podocarpus latifolius), or any other tree of genus Podocarpus.
• gesuipdrunk
• gifblaarDichapetalum cymosum, a poisonous plant.
• goorappelAny of various flowering plants in the genus Pygmaeothamnus.
• gousiektebossieAny of various plants in the family Rubiaceae.
• gramadoelaA remote, sparsely populated area of southern Africa.
• GriquaAny of a subgroup of South Africa's heterogeneous and multiracial black people, originally populating the frontiers of the infant Cape Colony, living as seminomadic commandos of mounted gunmen.
• grootslangA South African cryptid with the head of an elephant and the body of a snake, which reputedly eats elephants and hoards diamonds; one particular one (the Grootslang) is reputed to live in a cave in South Africa connected to the sea.
• grysappelParinari capensis, a fruit tree in the family Chrysobalanaceae.
• grysbokA small antelope of genus Raphicerus from South Africa.
• haak-en-steekThe plant Acacia tortilis.
• haarderPlaniliza haematocheilus, the redlip mullet, a mugilid fish.
• hammerkopA bird from southern Africa, Scopus umbretta, of the family Scopidae and related to the herons.
• handlangerAn unskilled assistant to an artisan.
• herenigingPolitical reunion.
• heuningbosSynonym of honeybush (“Cyclopia”).
• HeystekAn Afrikaans surname.
• Hout BayA maritime suburb of Cape Town, South Africa.
• jaagsiektepulmonary adenomatosis of sheep or goats
• Janse van RensburgAn Afrikaans surname.
• jislaaikgoodness; expressing shock or surprise
• kaalgatstark naked.
• KaapsThe form of the Afrikaans language spoken by Cape Coloured people.
• Kaapse KlopseA minstrel festival held in the Western Cape on the 2nd of January every year, in which Cape Coloured minstrels dress in bright colours, accompanied by instruments.
• kabeljouA type of fish from southern Africa, Argyrosomus coronus.
• KafferskraalA place name for many farms originally worked by black natives.
• kalkoentjieAny of several African pipits of the genus Macronyx.
• KapenaarA native or inhabitant of the city of Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa.
• kappieA kind of Afrikaner bonnet.
• karossA treated animal-skin cloak or blanket with the hair still left on.
• katkopPart of a loaf of bread.
• kennetjieA children’s (boy’s) game where a short stick is flipped into the air by a longer stick, batted and hopefully caught by ‘fielders’.
• kiaatPterocarpus angolensis (African teak).
• kierieA traditional club used as a weapon by certain indigenous groups of South Africa.
• kiewietThe crowned lapwing (Vanellus coronatus)
• kingklipA popular South African food fish; Genypterus capensis.
• klipkousabalone, ear-shell, ormer
• klipspringerA small antelope native to eastern and southern Africa having a dense, brown, speckled coat (Oreotragus oreotragus).
• knobkierieA fighting stick, usually with a knob on the end.
• knorhaanA large bird of the bustard family.
• koeksisterA traditional Afrikaner confection consisting of a deep-fried twisted or plaited doughnut dipped in syrup immediately after cooking.
• KoevoetA specialized South African police unit during the apartheid era that operated primarily in what is now Namibia.
• koggelmannetjeThe lizard Agama atra.
• kommetjeA handleless glazed earthenware basin, used as a drinking utensil.
• konfytA South African jam or fruit preserve.
• kopdoekA headcloth.
• korhaanAny of several large, terrestrial birds in the bustard family Otididae.
• koringkriekAn armoured bush cricket (Acanthoplus discoidalis);
• kwaaibad-tempered, aggressive, fierce
• lamziekteA form of botulism primarily affecting cattle.
• lappieloincloth
• lekkerbreekOchna pulchra, a small deciduous southern African tree.
• lui-haaiSynonym of pyjama shark.
• matoppieSynonym of motlopi.
• mealieAn ear or kernel of maize; in plural as mass noun: maize, corn.
• melkhoutThe milkwood tree.
• middelmannetjieA ridge between ruts made by wheels in a dirt or gravel road.
• mielieMaize.
• moerTo beat; to thrash.
• muggieThe stomach of a fish, used as food.
• muishondA species of weasel found in southern Africa, Poecilogale albinucha.
• naboomSynonym of candelabra tree (“Euphorbia ingens”).
• nagapiemohol bushbaby
• néUsed when giving the former name of a man.