Meaning

5 senses
  1. (countable, offensive)In Islamic contexts, a non-Muslim.

  2. (countable, offensive)A member of the Nguni people of southern Africa, especially a Xhosa.

  3. (Namibia, Rhodesia, South Africa, countable, derogatory, ethnic, offensive, slur)A black person.

    кафрkafr

    an offensive and insulting term for any Black African

  4. (historical, offensive, uncountable)A language spoken by the Nguni peoples of southern Africa, especially Xhosa.

  5. (countable, historical, slang, uncountable)South African mining shares

Translations

2 languages
Русский
black person:

Origin

Ultimately from Arabic كَفَّار (kaffār, “infidel”) or كَافِر (kāfir, “unbeliever”), both f

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.

Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Forms

plural: kaffirs

Synonyms

4 synonyms
Close in meaning
  • an offensive and insulting term for any Black African:caffercaffre
  • important for human and animal food; growth habit and stem form similar to Indian corn but having sawtooth-edged leaves:great milletSorghum bicolor

See also

neighbours in the dictionary
kaffir — meaning, examples, forms, synonyms | Krumeto