Kaffir-bread, noun

Forms:
Also Kaffir’s-bread, and with small initial.
Origin:
EnglishShow more kaffir + English bread; see quotation 1971.
obsolescent, offensive
In full Kaffir-bread tree: bread tree.
1801 J. Barrow Trav. I. 189Two plants of the palm tribe were frequently met with; one, the zamia cycadis, or Kaffer’s bread-tree, growing on the plains.
1868 W.H. Harvey Genera of S. Afr. Plants 354Encephalartos..species, natives of the Eastern district and the countries beyond. Colonial name ‘Kafir Bread’.
1882 Garden (U.K.) 10 June 410Encephalartos, or Kaffir Bread, is a genus confined to South Africa.
1958 L.G. Green S. Afr. Beachcomber 14Beyond the Buffalo River lies the Wild Coast, with the frangipane and kaffir-bread trees growing down to the beaches.
1971 R.A. Dyer in Std Encycl. of Sn Afr. III. 534Kaffir-bread tree...Several early travellers in the Cape refer to the making of crude bread from Encephalartos by Hottentots and Bantu, hence the common names indicating bread.
In full Kaffir-bread tree: bread tree.
Entry Navigation

Visualise Quotations

Quotation summary

Senses

18011971