‖agterkis, noun

/ˈaxtə(r)kəs/
Forms:
Also achterkist.
Origin:
Afrikaans, South African DutchShow more Afrikaans, earlier South African Dutch achterkist, achter rear + kist chest.
historical
A storage chest, traditionally placed at the rear of the trek-wagon; after-chest. See also wakis.
1868 W.R. Thomson Poems, Essays & Sketches 184Turn the family in to roost securely and comfortably for the night in the inside space between that (sc. the voorkis) and the achterkist.
1922 J.G. Fraser in F.G. Butler When Boys Were Men (1969) 207On the front of the wagon, between the sides, was the front box (the voorkist), and at the back the achterkist, or hind-box — into which boxes of all sorts of requisites for the journey could be packed.
1936 E. Rosenthal Old-Time Survivals 12In the voorkis and the agterkis — the ‘front cupboard’ and the ‘back cupboard’ — innumerable necessaries for the journey can be stowed.
1948 H.V. Morton In Search of S. Afr. 83The..trek wagon was really a caravan in which people lived as they travelled. This meant the addition of several features unknown to the European wheelwright, the katel, or bed, and the voorkis and agterkis, the front and rear chests or kists.
1971 Baraitser & Obholzer Cape Country Furn. 221The Voorkis (the chest in front of the wagon) is bigger and has sloped front and sides, whereas the agterkis (the chest at the back of the wagon) is smaller and square.
1991 [see voorkis].
A storage chest, traditionally placed at the rear of the trek-wagon; after-chest.
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18681971

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historical
agterkamer, nounn.agteros, nounn.
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