kaffir
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kaffir¹
- /ˈkæfə/ UK
- /ˈkæfɚ/ US
Rhymes with -æfə(ɹ)
Where it comes from
Ultimately from Arabic كَفَّار (kaffār, “infidel”) or كَافِر (kāfir, “unbeliever”), both from كَفَرَ (kafara, “to cover, to hide”); in some (especially early) uses, via Spanish cafre, Dutch kaffer or other European languages. Doublet of kafir.
noun kaffirs · Caffer · caffre · kaffer · Kaffir · Kaffre
- 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.
- 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 […].
- A black person. I rang the bell, and a smiling Kafir boy answered it.
- 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.’
- South African mining shares Kaffirs bouyant most of last week
- 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.
Kaffir²
noun Kaffirs
- Alternative letter-case form of kaffir
Translations
Talk about this word "kaffir." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/kaffir. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. kaffir. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/kaffir "kaffir." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/kaffir.Cite this
@misc{kaffir_2026,
title = {kaffir},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/kaffir},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
