Cape, noun
- Origin:
- Elliptical for Cape of Good Hope.
1. The Cape: A name for a. the Cape of Good Hope; b. in historical contexts. the Cape Colony; the Colony, see Colony; c. the (Western) Cape Province; d. the Cape Peninsula; e. Cape Town. In all senses also called Kaap. Also attributive. See also Fairest Cape.
- Note:
- In 1994 the Cape Province was divided into three new provinces, the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, and Northern Cape.
[1589 in W.S.W. Vaux World Encompassed by Sir Francis Drake (1854) 251From Jaua Maior we sailed for the cape of Good Hope...This Cape is a most stately thing, and the fairest Cape we saw in the whole circumference of the earth, and we passed by it the 18. of June [1580].]
1990 R. Gool Cape Town Coolie 173He had once wanted..to merge himself with the Cape, to belong here in Cape Town.
2. Special Comb.
a. Plants and animals:
Cape canary, the seed-eating bird Serinus canicollis of the Fringillidae; also called sysie (sense a);
Cape cobra, the venomous cobra Naja nivea of the Elapidae; bakkop; yellow cobra, see yellow sense a; see also mfesi, and rinkhals sense 1;
Cape cormorant, the marine bird Phalacrocorax capensis of the Phalacrocoracidae; trek-duiker, see duiker sense 2 b i;
Cape ebony, either of two tree species, (a) Heywoodia lucens of the Euphorbiaceae; (b) Euclea pseudebenus of the Ebenaceae;
Cape heath obsolete, a collective name for various species of heath-like plants indigenous to the Cape Peninsula;
Cape horse, a hardy horse bred predominantly from Oriental and English stock, from which two indigenous breeds, the Boerperd and the Basotho pony, were developed;
Cape jasmine, also Cape jassamine, Cape jessamine, any of several sweet-scented flowering plants of the genus Gardenia; also called katjiepiering;
Cape lilac, (a) the syringa (sense a), Melia azedarach; (b) the deurmekaarbos (see deurmekaar sense 2), Ehretia rigida;
Cape mahogany, either of two tree species, (a) Natal mahogany sense (a), see Natal sense b; (b) stinkwood sense a; its wood;
Cape saffron, (a) the plant Sutera atropurpurea of the Scrophulariaceae; (b) the tree Cassine peragua of the Celastraceae;
Cape sheep obsolete, frequently with qualifying word, large-tailed Cape sheep, fat-tailed sheep, see fat-tailed sense a;
Cape vulture, the endangered vulture Gyps coprotheres of the Accipitridae; also called aasvoel (sense a);
Cape wagtail, the commonest and most widely distributed of the southern African wagtails, Motacilla capensis, noted for its lack of fear of humans; also called quickstertje;
1989 Your Gardening Questions Answered (Reader’s Digest Assoc.) 333Ekbergia, Ekbergia capensis...Also known as Cape ash.
b. Products originating from (or manufactured at) the Cape:
Cape aloe obsolete except in historical contexts, a pharmaceutical product obtained by tapping and drying the juice of the plant Aloe ferox;
Cape diamond, a name used in the grading of diamonds for a stone with a yellowish colour (see also sense 3 below);
Cape furniture, especially in the phrase old Cape furniture, furniture made during previous centuries, usually of indigenous woods, in a style blending Dutch and English tradition; see also sense 3 below, and Cape Dutch adjectival phrase sense 2 b;
Cape Madeira obsolete except in historical contexts, a sweet dessert wine similar in type to Madeira; see also Cape wine;
1798 S.H. Wilcocke tr. of J.S. Stavorinus’s Voy. to E. Indies II. 84The Cape aloe is more transparent, and equal, if not superior, in quality, to those sorts, sold under the denominations of aloe succotrine, and aloe hepatica.
1965 D. Rooke Diamond Jo 87And in Africa the diamonds were waiting for men...They were strewn on the banks of the rivers and hidden in pipes beneath the ground: the glorious Cape whites, the yellows.
3. Elliptical for:
1884 York Herald (U.K.) 23 Aug. 7Wool Markets...Capes are without improvement.
1987 G. Viney Col. Houses 54The stinkwood and yellowwood cupboard on a stand is Cape, as are the two Cape Louis chairs.
The Cape:A name for a. the Cape of Good Hope; b. in historical contexts. the Cape Colony; the Colony, see Colony; c. the (Western) Cape Province; d. the Cape Peninsula; e. Cape Town. In all senses also called Kaap. Also attributive.
Heywoodia lucens of the Euphorbiaceae;
Euclea pseudebenus of the Ebenaceae;
the syringa (sense a), Melia azedarach;
stinkwood sense a; its wood;
the plant Sutera atropurpurea of the Scrophulariaceae;
the tree Cassine peragua of the Celastraceae;
, see sandalwood
the teal Anas capensis of the Anatidae
the tree Salix capensis of the Salicaceae
- Derivatives:
- Hence Capian adjective obsolete, of or pertaining to the Cape; Capeite noun obsolete [English suffix -ite denoting (one) connected with or belonging to], Kaapenaar sense 1.1731 G. Medley tr. of P. Kolben’s Present State of Cape of G.H. II. 9The Reader needs not be told, that the Cape — or Capian-Settlement, as it is sometimes call’d, takes its Name from the Cape, which makes a Part of it...In the Year 1712 the Capian-Colony was..considerably extended.
Copyright © 2023 Dictionary Unit for South African English.