field cornetcy, noun phrase

Forms:
Also field kornetcy, and with initial capital.
Origin:
EnglishShow more field cornet + English abstract-noun-forming suffix -cy.
1. obsolete. A subdivision or ward of a district, falling under the jurisdiction of a field cornet; veld cornetcy; veld cornetship; veldkornetcy. Also attributive.
1828 Ordinance for Regulating Manner of Proceeding in Criminal Cases in Stat. Law of Cape of G.H. (1862) 44In all cases the like duties, inspections, and examinations, shall and may be in like manner performed and conducted by any Field-cornet, each in his own particular Field-cornetcy.
1831 S. Afr. Almanac & Dir. 160The actual extent of the Field-Cornetcy is not accurately known; but it will take a man on horseback three days to ride round it.
1847 ‘A Bengali’ Notes on Cape of G.H. 7The whole colony is divided into ‘districts’ and the districts sub-divided into ‘Field-Cornetcies’.
1877 F. Jeppe Tvl Bk Almanac & Dir. (1976) 35Each district is divided into several Field-cornetcies or Wards, superintended by a Fieldcornet, elected by each Ward.
1899 G.M. Theal Rec. of Cape Col. V. 9The farmers of the fieldcornetcies of Zwartkops River, the Zuurveld, and Bruintjes Hoogte remained faithful to the government they had established but the others were beginning to argue that it would be better to submit to the English than to be deprived of ammunition and of a market to buy and sell in.
1913 C. Pettman Africanderisms 169Field cornetcy, The area over which a field cornet has jurisdiction.
2. In historical contexts. The office of field cornet.
1900 B. Mitford Aletta 132Then he came to the point. He wished to resign his field-cornetcy.
1946 E. Rosenthal General De Wet 26So little was he concerned with their opinion that he did not even take into account the prestige value of his Field-Cornetcy.
1973 J. Meintjes Voortrekkers 43His son Carolus..says that Louis was so busy with matters arising from his field-cornetcy that he as eldest son took over the supervision of their extensive farming activities.
3. In historical contexts. The militia unit commanded by a field cornet.
1929 D. Reitz Commando 24A field-cornetcy was supposed to contain 150–200 men.
1940 F.B. Young City of Gold 186Each field-cornetcy had its own bivouac, and the triangular wall of wagon-tilts was flushed with the light of numerous fires.
1963 S. Cloete Rags of Glory 41A commando consisted of two field kornetcies, each of approximately two hundred men, which was again divided into eight corporalships of approximately 25 men each.
1987 W. Steenkamp Blockhouse 6In theory a commando was led by a commandant and consisted of a number of field-cornetcies, each commanded by a field-cornet. A field-cornetcy in turn was divided into a number of corporalships.
4. A division of the Afrikaner youth organization, the Voortrekkers (see Voortrekker noun sense 2 b).
1975 J.F.P. Badenhorst in Std Encycl. of Sn Afr. XI. 288The Penkoppe, Drawwertjies and Verkenners are grouped into field-cornetcies for boys and for girls, and two or more field-cornetcies form a commando.
A subdivision or ward of a district, falling under the jurisdiction of a field cornet; veld cornetcy; veld cornetship; veldkornetcy. Also attributive.
The office of field cornet.
The militia unit commanded by a field cornet.
A division of the Afrikaner youth organization, the Voortrekkers (see Voortrekker noun sense 2 b).
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field cornet, noun phrasen. phr.field pound, noun phrasen. phr.
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