‖hardbieshuis, noun

/ˈhartbisˌhœɪs//ˈhɑːdbisˌheɪs/
Forms:
hardbeeshuis, hardebieshuisShow more Also hardbeeshuis, hardebieshuis, hardebiesieshuis.
Plurals:
hardbieshuise/ˈhartbishœɪsə//ˈhartbisheɪsə/.
Origin:
AfrikaansShow more Afrikaans, hard hard + bies reed + huis house; see quotation 1952.
obsolescent except in historical contexts, Architecture
hartebeest house, see hartebeest adjective. Occasionally also hardbieshuisie [see -ie].
1952 J. Walton Homesteads & Villages 92Hardbieshuise..were of such widespread occurrence in the early days of settlement across the Orange that they may be regarded as the typical house-type of the period.
1952 J. Walton Homesteads & Villages 95Backhouse’s suggestion that the name ‘Hartebeest’ house derived from its resemblance to ‘the species of buffalo’ is not supported by the other early travellers nor by the Voortrekkers themselves, both of whom referred to it as a hardbieshuis or hardbeeshuis, from the hard reeds, or harde biesies, which were used in its construction.
1963 R. Lewcock Early 19th C. Archit. 133Most of the settlers contented themselves for the time being with thatched shelters more or less after the native fashion, usually of a type then known on the frontier as ‘hartebeest huts’, ‘hartbeeshuise’ or ‘hardbieshuisies’ (or, correctly, ‘hardebiesieshuise’).
1963 Pollock & Agnew Hist. Geog. 61The hartebeest hut..was..a long curved hut made with hard reeds or hardebiesies, covered with mud, and not from the skins of the buck. These huts should thus be termed hardebieshuise.
1969 D. Child Yesterday’s Children 113The first Voortrekker house had been the hardbieshuis in which stout reeds or harde biesies were used for covering a timber framework.
hartebeest house, see hartebeest adjective. Occasionally also hardbieshuisie [see -ie].
Entry Navigation

Visualise Quotations

Quotation summary

Senses

19521969

Browse Related Words

By Category

Architecture and Buildings

By Origin

Afrikaans

By Usage

obsolete or obsolescent
haraam, adjectiveadj.hardebank, nounn.
Copyright © 2025 Dictionary Unit for South African English