South Africa

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South Africa

South Africa

A country of southern Africa on the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Originally inhabited by the San and Khoikhoi, the region was settled by various Bantu peoples c. 1500. European settlement began with the Dutch in the mid-1600s. The region passed to Great Britain in 1814 but was hotly contested by descendants of the Dutch settlers in the Boer War (1899-1902), in which Britain took possession of the entire territory, creating the Union of South Africa in 1910. South Africa declared itself a republic in 1961, severed ties with the British Commonwealth, and further consolidated the apartheid system, which was repealed beginning in 1989. An interim constitution ending white rule was adopted in 1993, and the first multiracial elections were held in 1994. Pretoria is the administrative capital; Cape Town, the legislative capital; and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital. Johannesburg is the largest city.

South African adj. & n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

South Africa

(Placename) Republic of South Africa a republic occupying the southernmost part of the African continent: the Dutch Cape Colony (1652) was acquired by Britain in 1806 and British victory in the Boer War resulted in the formation of the Union of South Africa in 1910, which became a republic in 1961; implementation of the apartheid system began in 1948 and was abolished, following an intense civil rights campaign, in 1993, with multiracial elections held in 1994; a member of the Commonwealth, it withdrew in 1961 but was readmitted in 1994. Mainly plateau with mountains in the south and east. Mineral production includes gold, diamonds, coal, and copper. Official languages: Afrikaans; English; Ndebele; Pedi; South Sotho; Swazi; Tsonga; Tswana; Venda; Xhosa; Zulu. Religion: Christian majority. Currency: rand. Capitals: Cape Town (legislative), Pretoria (administrative), Bloemfontein (judicial). Pop: 48 601 098 (2013 est). Area: 1 221 044 sq km (471 445 sq miles). Former name (1910–61): Union of South Africa

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

South` Af′rica

Republic of, a country in S Africa; member of the Commonwealth of Nations until 1961. 43,426,386; 472,000 sq. mi. (1,222,480 sq. km). Caps.: Pretoria and Cape Town. Formerly, Union of South Africa.

South` Af′rican, adj., n.

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Noun

South Africa - a republic at the southernmost part of Africa; achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1910; first European settlers were Dutch (known as Boers)

Republic of South Africa

trek - a journey by ox wagon (especially an organized migration by a group of settlers)

laager, lager - a camp defended by a circular formation of wagons

biltong - meat that is salted and cut into strips and dried in the sun

PAGAD, People against Gangsterism and Drugs - a terrorist organization in South Africa formed in 1996 to fight drug lords; evolved into a vigilante group with anti-western views closely allied with Qibla; is believed to have ties to Islamic extremists in the Middle East; is suspected of conducting bouts of urban terrorism

Qibla - a small terrorist group of Muslims in South Africa formed in the 1980s; was inspired by Ayatollah Khomeini to create an Islamic state in South Africa

British Commonwealth, Commonwealth of Nations - an association of nations consisting of the United Kingdom and several former British colonies that are now sovereign states but still pay allegiance to the British Crown

KwaZulu-Natal, Natal - a region of eastern South Africa on the Indian Ocean; "Natal was renamed KwaZulu-Natal in 1994"

capital of South Africa, Pretoria - city in the Transvaal; the seat of the executive branch of the government of South Africa

Cape Town - port city in southwestern South Africa; the seat of the legislative branch of the government of South Africa

Johannesburg - city in the northeastern part of South Africa near Pretoria; commercial center for diamond and gold industries

Kimberley - city in central South Africa; center for diamond mining and diamond marketing

Durban - a port city in eastern South Africa on the Indian Ocean; resort and industrial center

Orange Free State, Free State - a province in central South Africa that was colonized by the Boers; named Free State in 1997

Transvaal - a province of northeastern South Africa originally inhabited by Africans who spoke Bantu; colonized by the Boers

Cape Colony, Cape of Good Hope Province, Cape Province - a former province of southern South Africa that was settled by the Dutch in 1652 and ceded to Great Britain in 1814; in 1994 it was split into three new provinces of South Africa

Bloemfontein - the seat of the supreme court

Soweto - a large collection of African townships to the southwest of Johannesburg in South Africa; inhabited solely by Black Africans

Kalahari, Kalahari Desert - a desert in southwestern Africa - largely Botswana

Africa - the second largest continent; located to the south of Europe and bordered to the west by the South Atlantic and to the east by the Indian Ocean

kopje, koppie - a small hill rising up from the African veld

Crocodile River, Limpopo - an African river; flows into the Indian Ocean

Orange River, Orange - a river in South Africa that flows generally westward to the Atlantic Ocean

Sotho - a member of the Bantu people who inhabit Botswana, Lesotho, and northern South Africa and who speak the Sotho languages

Batswana, Bechuana, Tswana - a member of a Bantu people living chiefly in Botswana and western South Africa

South African - a native or inhabitant of South Africa

Xhosa - a member of the Negroid people of southern South Africa

mealie - an ear of corn

Translations

جَنُوبُ أَفْرِيقْيَا

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