kaffir

Etymology

Definitions

1. 1

   In Islamic contexts, a non-Muslim.

   • He […] put me in imminent danger of my life, by telling the natives that I was a Caffer, and not a Mussulman.
2. 2

   A member of the Nguni people of southern Africa, especially a Xhosa.

   • … the Hambonaas, a nation quite different from the Kaffers, having a yellowish complexion […].
3. 3

   A black person.

   • I rang the bell, and a smiling Kafir boy answered it.
   • If you ask a Kaffir why he does so-and-so, he will answer—"How can I tell? It has always been done by our forefathers."
   • I once heard him say to the gardener, 'Come along, son.' His wife scolded him saying, 'He's not son, don't call him son, he's a kaffir.'
4. ›+ 4 more definitionsshow fewer

   1. 4

      A language spoken by the Nguni peoples of southern Africa, especially Xhosa.

      • This man, seeing a white person enter, moved aside for her, but she saw Joss's eyes on her, and said in kitchen kaffir, ‘No, when you've finished.’
   2. 5

      South African mining shares

      • Kaffirs bouyant most of last week
   3. 6

      Ellipsis of kaffir corn.

      • This market reports only one or two cars per day, selling by the hundred weight, and at a price a little lower than that of Indian corn. As to the purpose for which the marketed kaffir is used, there is some uncertainty.
   4. 7

      Alternative letter-case form of kaffir.

The neighborhood

• neighborkafir
• neighbornigger