Af, noun

/æf/
Forms:
Also with small initial.
Origin:
Abbreviation of African noun1 sense 1.
derogatory, offensive
1. A demeaning term for a Black person.
1976 J.F. Burns in New York Times 22 June 13A common feature of the conversation with the whites was the use of pejoratives to refer to blacks...In English-speaking households, the words ‘natives’, or ‘Afs’ were common.
1978 Sunday Times 21 May 14Yes, I know it sounds daft, getting worked up about a stray Af...You can’t tell me a Jo’burg Af doesn’t pick up a smattering of English and/or Afrikaans.
1980 D. Beckett in Bloody Horse No.2, 13Honestly, no one is more anxious to see the afs get what is due to them than we are.
1986 Style Dec. 41Newcomers were conspicuous as they bit their tongues turning garden boy into gardener, girl into maid, boys into men, Afs into blacks and South West into Namibia.
1989 Informant, Grahamstown (now Makhanda, Eastern Cape)This is my dairy book — you know, I keep a record of the milk production per day, otherwise the Afs steal it.
1990 Frontline Jan. 29The sayings of the Ex-colonials: What I don’t like about the hairybacks is that they’re so bloody rough on the Afs.
1990 R. Malan My Traitor’s Heart 41In my teens, everyone knew that all ‘Afs’ smoked dope.
2. combination, nonce
Aftax [blend of Af and English taxi], a derogatory term for a Black-owned taxi of a particular type.
Note:
A perceived euphemism for the offensive term kaffir-taxi (see kaffir noun sense 2 e).
1983 T. McAllen Kyk DaarIn order to qualify for the label Aftax the vehicle has to be of original American manufacture and at least twenty years old...To own an Aftax carries status and wealth. To drive it requires courage and fortitude, second to none.
A demeaning term for a Black person.
a derogatory term for a Black-owned taxi of a particular type.
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Senses

19761990

Compounds

advocate, nounn.afdak, nounn.
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