Cape Dutch, noun phrase and & adjectival phrase
- Origin:
- EnglishShow more Cape + English Dutch (a person) originating from Holland.
A. noun phrase Obs. exc. historical.
1. The Cape Dutch (plural): The early Dutch-speaking colonists at the Cape. Cf. the Dutch (see Dutch noun sense 1), the South African Dutch (see South African Dutch noun phrase sense 2).
1822 W.W. Bird in J.C. Chase Cape of G.H. (1843) 258Ambition and politics, two of the grand tormentors of human life, have no field in South Africa large enough for an Englishman, and the Cape Dutch know them not, for they are content to be quiet and to obey.
1981 A. Paton in Optima Vol.30 No.2, 89One can of course stress too far the differences between the Cape Dutch and those who had trekked into the interior, but differences there were.
2. The form of Dutch spoken by the early settlers at the Cape. Cf. Dutch noun sense 2 a.
1835 J.W.D. Moodie Ten Yrs in S. Afr. II. 256Not being able to produce interpreters who understand English, the preacher is obliged to deliver his sermons in Cape Dutch.
1988 D. Dannhauser in S. Afr. Panorama Feb. 20Around 1869, farmers spoke a kind of Cape Dutch at home which had no fixed form because it wasn’t the written language and differed from the written language, High Dutch, used in church and at formal gatherings.
B. adjectival phrase
1. In historical contexts. Of or pertaining to the Dutch-speaking colonists at the Cape. See also Dutch adjective sense 1.
1827 G. Thompson Trav. 207He would find it useful to avail himself, in all ordinary affairs, of the experience of the Cape Dutch colonists in his vicinity — a class of men not deficient in shrewdness.
1991 Flying Springbok May 167The only truly indigenous South African cuisine is the Cape Dutch repertoire with its amalgams of savoury and sweet, its Malay-influenced stews and kebabs, its heavy, rich, wonderful desserts.
2.
a. Architecture. Of, pertaining to, or designating the gabled, whitewashed style of early Cape architecture.
[1835 G. Champion Jrnl (1968) 10On either side of the street stand the neatly thatched & white-washed Dutch houses, each with a stoup in front.]
1988 C. Marais in Personality 19 Dec. 34In the old days a Cape Dutch house was considered second grade, and dubbed ‘The Hottentot Style’. Nowadays, however, Cape Dutch is most definitely ‘in’.
b. Of, pertaining to, or designating traditional Cape furniture styles. See also Cape furniture (Cape sense 2 b).
1959 L.E. Van Onselen Cape Antique Furn. 8At the Cape, these ideas came into conflict with Dutch conservatism. This led Huguenot craftsmen to adopt the better features of Cape Dutch styles and to implement them with their own revolutionary ideas.
1990 Weekly Mail 28 Sept. 3Whether you prefer Cape Dutch or Japanese, Antique or Modern..we will suit your style and budget...Domestic and commercial interior decorators.
The Cape Dutch (plural):The early Dutch-speaking colonists at the Cape. Cf. the Dutch (see Dutch noun sense 1), the South African Dutch (see South African Dutch noun phrase sense 2).
The form of Dutch spoken by the early settlers at the Cape.
Of or pertaining to the Dutch-speaking colonists at the Cape.
Of, pertaining to, or designating the gabled, whitewashed style of early Cape architecture.
Of, pertaining to, or designating traditional Cape furniture styles.
Visualise Quotations
Quotation summarySenses
Copyright © 2023 Dictionary Unit for South African English.