GLOSSARY

A Guide to Unusual or Foreign Words and Phrases

amore (Italian)—love
antbear (Oryceteropus afer)—aardvark
arrivderci (Italian)—good-bye
asante sana (Swahili)—thank you very much
ayah (Hindi)—children’s maid

baas (Afrikaans)—boss

baobab (Adansonia digitata)—an enormous and iconic tree with a shiny bark reminiscent of elephant hide

batman—an officer’s orderly or personal servant

boma—a chief’s enclosure; a district government office

bywoner (Afrikaans)—sub-tenant or farm laborer; tenant farmer

cent’ anni (Italian)—(may you live) a hundred years
choo (Swahili)—latrine (pronounced “cho” as in “know”)
che bello (Italian)—how beautiful
ciao, come stai? (Italian)—hello, how are you?

dit is jou perd (Afrikaans)—this is your horse

eucalyptus—see gum tree

fynbos—shrub land of mixed, hardy plants occurring in a small belt in the Western Cape

gum tree (Eucalyptus bicostata)—from the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, also known as eucalyptus. A diverse genus of flowering tree primarily originating in Australia but cultivated all over the tropics. The particular trees referred to here are commonly known as blue gums.

hadeda Ibis (Bostrychia hagedash)—a large dark brown ibis, common throughout much of east, central and south Africa

hensopper (Afrikaans)—someone who surrenders to, or joins, the enemy

high veldt—high plateau in southern Africa (cooler, wetter and generally more fertile and pleasant for human habitation than the low veldt)

hujambo askari (Swahili)—how are you, watchman?

huku (Shona)—chicken

il me nome e Nicola (Italian)—my name is Nicola

impala—a kind of antelope

kikoi (Swahili)—a brightly colored piece of cloth particular to East Africa, rather like a sarong

kirima kia ngoma (Swahili)—the place of devils

kloof (Afrikaans)—ravine, canyon

kom (Afrikaans)—come, let’s go

kraal (Afrikaans)—livestock enclosure

lekker (Afrikaans)—nice

low veldt—lower elevations in southern Africa (hotter and drier and generally less fertile than high veldt)

maiwe (Shona)—my goodness!

miombo (Swahili)—see also msasa. Miombo refers to the woodland of brachystegia, a genus of tree comprising a large number of species. Typically, the bark of these trees is dark, their foliage is a feathery plume, shed during the dry season. New gold and red leaves are produced just before the onset of the rains. The tree is under threat as it is used extensively in the making of charcoal.

mopane (Colophospermum mopane)—grows in hot, low-lying areas, usually in so-called mopane woodlands

msasa (Brachystegia spiciformis)—see miombo

muli bwanje. Dzina landa ndine Nicola Fuller of Central Africa (Chinyanja)—Hello. My name is Nicola Fuller of Central Africa

munts—derogatory slang for black Zimbabweans (from muntu the Shona word meaning person)

mzuri sana (Swahili)—very good

nee dankie (Afrikaans)—no thank you ni

le monitor (Varanus niloticus)—a large, highly-aquatic carnivorous lizard

nshima (Chinyanja)—see sadza. The staple of Zambia; a thick porridge made from corn.

nursing home—in the United States, a nursing home is predominantly for elderly residents but in England a nursing home is a maternity clinic or hospital

nyoka (Shona)—snake

op jou merke (Afrikaans)—on your marks

op Violet (Afrikaans)—here’s to Violet

pamodzi (Chinyanja)—together

pole sana (Swahili)—very sorry

(the) Proms—formally known as the BBC Proms, or the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts presented by the BBC, the Proms is an eight-week summer season of daily classical music concerts held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hall in London

povo—poor or impoverished people p

seudo ops—pseudo operations; black Rhodesian soldiers fighting for the Rhodesian government who infiltrated the ranks of guerilla (or freedom) fighters

pukka (Hindi)—superior, first-class; proper authentic

reedbuck—a species of antelope

sadza (Shona)—see also nshima. The food staple of Zimbabwe; a thick porridge made out of corn.

sahib/memsahib (Hindi)—master/mistress (used formerly as a respectful form of address for a European man/woman in India)

salwar kameez—a unisex dress of pants and a tunic worn in South and Central Asia

shamba (Swahili)—small plot or market garden. After independence in Kenya, shambas were cut from larger, commercial farms and distributed among landless indigenous Kenyans.

shateen—bush, backcountry

sorry cloth—strips of very cheap, black cotton in which poor southern and central Africans bury their dead

syce (Hindi)—groom

terrs—slang for terrorists

trekboer (Afrikaans)—South African semi-nomadic pastoralists, primarily of Dutch descent

trekker (Afrikaans)—South African, primarily Afrikaner. The name refers to those who moved, usually from real or perceived persecution, from one European-settled area into areas not yet settled by Europeans.

Ugandan kob—type of antelope

veldskoen (Afrikaans)—literally “bush skin.” The hide of animals made into leather hats and shoes.

veldt (Afrikaans)—grassland

voetsek (Afrikaans)—go away!

voortrekker (Afrikaans)—literally, “those who trek ahead.” Afrikaners emigrants who moved into the South African interior in the 1830s and 1840s.

wattle—a genus of shrubs and trees belonging to the subfamily Mimosideae of the family Fabaceae. The bark of several species is rich in tannin used in the tanning of leather.

Wie get es dir? (German)—how are you?

zikomo kwambili (Chinyanja)—thank you very much