Afrikaner

noun

Af·​ri·​ka·​ner ˌa-fri-ˈkä-nər How to pronounce Afrikaner (audio)
often attributive
: a South African of European descent whose native language is Afrikaans
Afrikanerdom noun

Examples of Afrikaner in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The fall of South African apartheid In 1948, the white-nationalist Afrikaner National Party was elected to run South Africa, a country that had already been controlled by a colonial white minority government. Benjamin Case, The Conversation, 6 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'Afrikaner.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Afrikaans & Dutch, literally, "African" — more at africander

First Known Use

1820, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of Afrikaner was in 1820

Dictionary Entries Near Afrikaner

Cite this Entry

“Afrikaner.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Afrikaner. Accessed 4 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

Afrikaner

noun
Af·​ri·​ka·​ner ˌaf-ri-ˈkän-ər How to pronounce Afrikaner (audio)
: a person born in South Africa whose native language is Afrikaans and whose ancestors were from Europe
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