Meanings
- South AfricauncountableA children’s (boy’s) game where a short stick is flipped into the air by a longer stick, batted and hopefully caught by ‘fielders’.
Instead we played kennetjie in the yard with a small piece of wood, which we flipped with a stick, and struck into the air.
2010, Rayda Jacobs, Sachs Street, page 1351 more example
The two men are playing a Boer sport called kennetjie, using a length of broomstick as the bat, on which is balanced a small piece of wood that serves as the 'ball'.
2008, Christopher Hope, My Mother's Lovers, page 186 - South AfricauncountableThe short stick used in this game.
A strong, three feet long stick (the bat or hook) and a shorter piece five or six inches long (the kennetjie) were the requirements. A deep gash six inches in length was scraped in the ground. The kennetjie was laid cross-wise over the gash.
2006, Louis Mallett, The history of the people of Malay Camp, Kimberley
Origin
- Afrikaanskennetjie
- Afrikaanskennetjie
- Englishkennetjie
Borrowed from Afrikaans kennetjie (“little chin”).
More words from Afrikaans
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans kennetjie
- kennetjiegame
Cite this entry
kennetjie. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kennetjie
“kennetjie.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kennetjie. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “kennetjie,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/kennetjie.
Source: kennetjie on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.