karee, noun2

/kəˈriː/, /kəˈrɪə/, ‖/kaˈrɪə/
Forms:
caree, kariShow more Also caree, kari, karré, karrée, karree, karrie, kharee.
Origin:
KhoikhoiShow more Adaptation of Khoikhoi karré-, care-, kare-, caree-, karree-, or carru- (in Koranna, !gare-b).
1.
a.
i. In full karee tree, occasionally karee wood: any of several evergreen trees of the genus Rhus of the Anacardiaceae, but particularly R. lancea, an evergreen tree with lance-shaped leaves, small berries, and gnarled trunk (resembling a willow), and less frequently R. viminalis; kareeboom; kareehout sense b. Also attributive. See also rosyntjiebos sense (b) (rosyntjie sense 2).
1802 W. Somerville Narr. of E. Cape Frontier (1979) 77The banks are cloathed with wood, but only along the margin of the river, chiefly willow and Karee wood.
1822 W.J. Burchell Trav. I. 210The number of Karrée trees growing along the course of the rivulet, give a more pleasing appearance to the Pass.
1834 A.G. Bain in A. Steedman Wanderings (1835) II. 248Two large Karee trees, with large pools of rain-water around them.
1846 R. Moffat Missionary Labours 2Richly fringed with overhanging willows, towering acacias, and kharee trees and shrubs, umbrageous at all seasons of the year.
1859 W.J. Burchell in Cape Monthly Mag. V. June 359The karree trees..belong to the rhus genus, all the species of which have trifoliote leaves, and small, clustered berries of an acid, slightly turpentine flavour.
1876 E.E. Frewer tr. of Verne’s Adv. in S. Afr. 39The karrees with dark green foliage.
1905 D.E. Hutchins in Flint & Gilchrist Science in S. Afr. 401From a six-year-old plot of Kari on Cedar Ridge there has been a mean yearly production of timber amounting to 533 cubic feet.
1917 R. Marloth Dict. of Common Names of Plants 47Karee, (Karee’boom). Rhus lancea, but also R. viminalis (Nam.). Frequent along rivers and watercourses of the central and northern districts.
1936 W.B. Humphreys in Hansard 10 Mar. 1008The vaalbos, the wild olive, the karree are all indigenous fodder plants.
1955 L.G. Green Karoo 133Karee trees grow in the sandy kloofs; their trunks are often used as fencing posts, while the wood makes good charcoal.
1961 Palmer & Pitman Trees of S. Afr. 290The full rounded shape of the karree and its evergreen, drooping, willow-like foliage, give a soft note to what is often otherwise a bleak landscape.
1966 E. Palmer Plains of Camdeboo 287Along the river-beds across the plains are thorn trees and karees.
1987 M. Poland Train to Doringbult 9The ridge was dark, shadowed with euphorbias, with gwarri and karee.
1988 Smuts & Alberts Forgotten Highway through Ceres & Bokkeveld 26The river banks are lined by the graceful karee tree (Rhus viminale) and by the true willow (Salix).
1991 H. Hutchings in Weekend Post 23 Feb. (Leisure) 7Rhus lancea (karee) makes an attractive shade tree.
ii. In full karee wood: the timber of any of these trees; kareehout sense a.
1802 Truter & Somerville in G.M. Theal Rec. of Cape Col. (1899) IV. 403We immediately cut a new one (sc. beam) of caree wood.
1861 P.B. Borcherds Auto-Biog. Mem. 110The weapons of the Bushman tribes are the bow and arrow, assegai, and the kirrie. The bow is commonly made of Karee wood and very tough.
1872 E.J. Dunn in A.M.L. Robinson Sel. Articles from Cape Monthly Mag. (1978) 56The deadly arrows tipped with puffadder poison, and the bow made of Karee wood.
1892 The Jrnl 9 July 1300 Karee Poles.
1958 L. Van der Post Lost World of Kalahari 15In the rivers and streams he constructed traps beautifully woven out of reeds and buttressed with young karee wood or harde-kool.
1984 S. Afr. Panorama Feb. 36During the ostrich feather boom thousands of karee fencing poles were cut on the banks of the Buffels River..and sold to wealthy ostrich farmers in the Little Karoo.
b. In full karee bush: i. The fodder shrub Rhus ciliata; suurkaree (see sense 2). ii. The shrub Rhus viminalis. In both senses also called kareebos (see sense 3).
1815 A. Plumptre tr. of H. Lichtenstein’s Trav. in Sn Afr. II. 223Mimosas,..willows, and karree bushes. Among the latter the colonists include several sorts of rhus.
1898 W.C. Scully Vendetta 177A long, low ridge dotted with karee bushes and large arboreal aloes.
1898 W.C. Scully Vendetta (Glossary)Karee Bush, A shrub: Rhus viminalis.
1974 Evening Post 17 Oct. 8Massive replanting scemes with wild olives, rooiels, yellowwood, stinkwood, kareebush, [etc.].
1992 A.B. Muller Informant, Graaff-ReinetKarree bush is that low, grey bush. It smells horrible, but the sheep love to eat it. It is what gives Karoo mutton its special flavour.
2. With distinguishing epithet:
broom karee, Rhus erosa;
hoenderspoorkaree [see quotation 1966], R. lancea;
mountain karee, R. leptodictya;
suurkaree /ˈsyːr-/ [Afrikaans, suur sour], R. ciliata;
white karee, R. viminalis.
1989 Conserva July 22Rhus erosa. Broom karee.
1993 F. Van Rensburg in Getaway Nov. 93Several Rhus species: the nana berry Rhus dentata, common taaibos R pyroides and broom karee R erosa, the last-mentioned being a very valuable tree in consolidating the soil.
1966 C.A. Smith Common Names 2In the name hoenderspoorkaree (Rhus lancea L.),..‘hoenderspoor’ refers to the..mark on the equipment of the British forces during the Anglo-Boer War. The mark has a resemblance to the spoor of a fowl (Afrikaans hoender).., but its application to this particular species of karee was prompted by the resemblance to the three unequal leaflets of the plant.
1985 S. Afr. Panorama Feb. 33The mountain karees are evergreen.
1993 Grocott’s Mail 6 Aug. 10Rhus leptodictya/Mountain Karee.
1913 C. Pettman Africanderisms 576Zuur-karee, Rhus tridactyla is so called in Bechuanaland.
1968 Farmer’s Weekly 3 Jan. 7Grazing in good condition with olienhout, vaalbos, rosyntjiebos, suurkaree and mixed grazing.
1971 Golden Fleece (S. Afr. Wool Board) June (Suppl.) 8Rhus ciliata — Suurkaree.
1991 Sat. Star 2 Nov. (Weekend Suppl.) 6White Karee (rhus viminalis), mountain Karee (rhus leptodictya), pink flowering pom-pom tree.
3. combinations
karee-berry, kareebessie /-ˌbesi/ [Afrikaans, bessie berry], the berry of the karee tree, used to make alcoholic drinks;
kareebos /-bɔs/ [Afrikaans, bos bush], karee bush (see sense 1 b);
karee brandy, a spirit distilled from karee berries;
kareedoring /-ˌduərəŋ/ [Afrikaans, doring thorn], any of a number of species of Lycium;
karee-mampoer /-mamˈpuːr/ [Afrikaans, see mampoer], karee brandy, see above.
1947 H.C. Bosman Mafeking Rd (1969) 122It was good mampoer, made from karee-berries that were plucked when they were still green and full of thick sap.
1979 Star 17 Jan.There are some people who will try to tell you that kareebessies (berries) make the best mampoer but I, personally, would agree with Oom Daan that the best kind is the sort that is made from peaches.
1939 S. Cloete Watch for Dawn 23Thrown flesh-side upwards on acacia and kareebos, the crinkled skins of sheep lay drying.
1977 Weekend Post 23 Apr. (Suppl.) 5Natural forks were made from the karriebos.
1947 H.C. Bosman Mafeking Rd (1969) 121Karee-brandy is not as potent as the brandy you distil from moepels or maroelas.
1968 L.G. Green Full Many Glorious Morning 216Thick bush along the banks, thorn bush and mimosa, kareedoring and willows.
1983 J.A. Brown White Locusts 201A jug of karee-mampoer was going the rounds.
any of several evergreen trees of the genus Rhus of the Anacardiaceae, but particularly R. lancea, an evergreen tree with lance-shaped leaves, small berries, and gnarled trunk (resembling a willow), and less frequently R. viminalis; kareeboom; kareehout sense b. Also attributive.
the timber of any of these trees; kareehout sense a.
The fodder shrub Rhus ciliata; suurkaree (see sense 2).
The shrub Rhus viminalis. In both senses also called kareebos (see sense 3).
Entry Navigation
kardoesie, nounn.kareeboom, nounn.
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