1.
a. The vast, arid inland plateau extending from Langeberg in the south to Cradock (now Enxuba), Pearston, Somerset East and Venterstad in the east and northwards into the Orange Free State; any tract of Karoo-like desert land. Also attributive.
- Note:
- The original Karoo probably lay entirely within the former Cape Province. Its boundaries are determined by the dominance of xerophytic vegetation and are in a constant movement outwards as desert encroaches on farming land.
1776 F. Masson in Phil. Trans. of Royal Soc. LXVI. 287
On each side of this river lies an extraordinary track of land, which in the Hottentot language is called Carro.
1786 G. Forster tr. of A. Sparrman’s Voy. to Cape of G.H. II. 125
These large birds were..chiefly to be found in such tracts of country as partook of the properties of the carrow, and produced succulent plants.
1790 W. Paterson Narr. of Four Journeys 44
We proceeded through what the Dutch call Karo, the soil of which is a soft friable loam, chiefly producing succulent plants, and a few dwarf shrubs.
1822 W.J. Burchell Trav. I. 81
The hottest parts of the colony are to be found in those barren plains which are distinguished by the general appellation of Karro.
a1823 J. Ewart Jrnl (1970
) 34
Betwixt the Zwarteberg and Nieuveldt or last great chain, extend the immense arid deserts called by the Hottentot name of Karroo.
[1841 B. Shaw Memorials 68
On leaving the banks of the Elephant River, we commenced our journey in the Karree or arid desert.]
1900 J.B. Atkins Relief of Ladysmith 43
The kopjes and the great flat sandy karroo have a strain of deformity in their nature.
1948 H.V. Morton In Search of S. Afr. 246
The Karoo — a Hottentot word which means ‘dry place’ — is an arid plateau lower than the plains of the Free State, lying within the Cape Province.
1971 S. Afr. Panorama Sept. 27
The Karoo, the semi-arid but healthy plateau that covers nearly one-third of South Africa’s interior, and which supports the world’s second-largest sheep population.
1990 Philatelic Bulletin 1 Nov.
The Khoi word karoo means thirsty land, but many million years ago the Karoo was a lush jungle in which awesome mammal-like reptiles roamed. Their fossiled remains..earned the Karoo a special place in palaeontology.
1993 Getaway Nov. 13
(letter)Those trucks pound through the Karoo town night and day.
b. With distinguishing epithet designating a region or sub-division of the Karoo:
Great Karoo [tr. Afrikaans
groot great
], the main plateau north of the Swartberg ;
Klein Karoo /ˈkleɪn/ [Afrikaans
klein little
] and translation Little Karoo, the southern portion of the Karoo, lying mainly between the Langeberg and the Swartberg; also attributive.
1790 W. Paterson Narr. of Four Journeys 45
The people informed us of the danger of crossing the Great Karo, not only from its being a desert country, but also from parties of the Boshmen Hottentots, who were at war with the Dutch.
1809 R. Collins in G.M. Theal Rec. of Cape Col. (1900
) VII. 119
Whoever reads the accounts that have been published of travels through the colony of the Cape, must be impressed with ideas of the Great Karoo.
1812 A. Plumptre tr. of H. Lichtenstein’s Trav. in Sn Afr. (1928
) I. 112
The great Karroo, as it is called, a parched and arid plain, stretching out to such an extent that the vast hills by which it is terminated are almost lost in the distance.
1828 T. Pringle Ephemerides 89
The Great Karroo is an uninhabitable wilderness, about 300 miles long by 80 broad, forming an elevated plain, or tract of table land, between the great ridges of the Zwartbergen..and Sneeubergen.
1836 Penny Cyclopaedia VI. 257The Great Karroo is one of the most barren and desolate spots imaginable.
1847 J. Barrow Autobiog. Memoir 147
At the head of the Hex River valley, we were to take leave of every human habitation for at least sixteen days, the usual time required to cross the dreary and barren desert known by the name of the Great karroo, on which nothing..is to be had except ostrich eggs and antelopes.
1900 H.C. Hillegas Oom Paul’s People 4
Farther inland is the Great Karroo, a desert of sombre renown.
1955 L.G. Green Karoo 11
It must have been a drought year when the fist Hottentot tribes migrating southwards gazed on the Great Karoo for the first time. They named these plains Garob, meaning dry, unfruitful, uninhabited.
1985 J. Deacon in S. Afr. Panorama Sept. 30
Thus did the Reverend..christen this oasis (sc. Bethesda) in the wilderness of South Africa’s Great Karoo.
1971 S. Western Herald 14 Aug. 5
An American bird lover is one up on ostrich farmers, nowadays confined to the Klein Karoo only.
1987 E. Prov. Herald 6 May 9
The neglect of the Klein Karoo..could play a major part in the result.
1844 J. Backhouse Narr. of Visit 112
This country is called the Little Karroo or Kanneland.
1880 [see
kanna n.2 sense 2].
1948 H.V. Morton In Search of S. Afr. 117
The best mutton in South Africa is raised on the small moisture-holding vygies of the Little Karoo and the Great Karoo.
1951 Off. Yr Bk of Union No. 25, 1949 (Union Office of Census & Statistics
) 331
The little Karroo, stretching from the first mountain range to the Zwartberg, has a greater altitude, more severe climate and an average rainfall of 8 to 12 inches.
1975 J.P.H. Acocks Veld Types 61
Justice cannot..be done to the Little Karoo flora.
1992 T. Van Rensburg in S. Afr. Panorama Mar.
–Apr. 8
The agricultural potential of the area is low, with the exception of the Little Karoo which has become famous for its ostrich farms.
2. In full Karoo bush: noncount, or with plural Karoo bushes (any of) numerous species of scrub-like bushes occurring in the Karoo, especially those of the genera Chrysocoma and Pentzia; also called sweet Karoo. See also berggansie (berg sense 1 b ii), bitter Karoo, skaapbos.
- Note:
- Some species are toxic, semi-toxic, or noxious weeds; others are invaluable as grazing.
1835 A. Steedman Wanderings I. 98
A dry, sunburnt plain; not a single vestige of vegetation was anywhere to be seen, except the karroo bush, almost as brown and barren as the ground on which it grew.
1852 M.B. Hudson S. Afr. Frontier Life 236
The Karroo is a heathery shrub, and affords very good grazing for cattle, and stock that are used to it, but it must not be compared to grass.
1863 J.S. Dobie S. Afr. Jrnl (1945
) 120
The Karoo bush is about the size of heather, growing more or less thickly together, and is of a dark dusky green.
1872 The Jrnl 9 July 1The Veld consists of the much-sought-after Karoo, Vygebosch, Granaat, Brakbosch.
1896 R. Wallace Farming Indust. of Cape Col. 80
Most of the valuable Karoo bushes give off a sweet aromatic perfume when bruised between the fingers, and the flavour appears to be agreeable to the palates of herbivorous animals.
1908 F.C. Slater Sunburnt South 72
Wandering airs of night, laden with pungent odours of Karroo-bush, began to whisper with tremulous solemnity over the desolate wilderness.
1916 Farmer’s Weekly 20 Dec. 1468
Thousands of morgen of veld, which consists of the best grass and karroo, with water for stock in all parts.
1920 E.H.L. Schwarz Kalahari; or, Thirstland Redemption 17
Most botanists maintain that the Karroo bushes are of such a peculiar type, that they must have taken untold ages to acquire their adaptive modifications.
1926 M. Nathan S. Afr. from Within 208
The characteristic vegetation of the Karoo is the Karoo bush, a drought-resisting shrub, which, though uninviting in appearance, is wonderfully nutritious to sheep.
1938 F.C. Slater Trek 51
On both sides of the Orange ‘mixed-karroo,’ Grass and karroo-bush, close together grew. But farther North ‘karroo’ was counted out.
1949 J. Mockford Golden Land 216
The veld maintained its strength because the game trekked with the growth and decline of grass and the Karoo bush.
1958 A. Jackson Trader on Veld 37
These animals..thrived on the brown, lifeless karroo when every other animal starved.
1972 Grocott’s Mail 3 Mar. 4
The veld consists of mixed Karroo and Sweet Grass.
1985 S. Afr. Panorama Oct. 41
Hardy Karoo bushes, so numerous that Afrikaners changed the Dutch saying ‘money like water,’ to ‘money like bushes’, are made for grazing.
1990 Weekend Post 13 Oct. 7
Autumn rains which promote Karoo bush growth for small stock did not materialise and they are approaching summer with depleted veld and reserves.
3. combinations and Special Combinations
Karoo ash colloquial, burnt kraal manure used as a fertilizer;
Karoo beds Geology, geological strata comprised of sandstone and volcanic matter, and believed to date from the Triassic period;
Karoo caterpillar, the larva of the Karoo moth,
Loxostege frustralis of the
Pyralidae, which destroys Karoo grazing veld; also
attributive; see also
rusper;
Karoo chat, the small bird
Cercomela schlegelii, predominantly grey in colour;
Karoo field [calque formed on South African Dutch
Karo veld],
Karoo veld, see below;
Karoo ground Geology, a yellow soil containing sand, clay, and particles of iron;
Karoo oyster colloquial, Karoo lamb’s liver wrapped in fat;
Karoo quick grass [see
quick], the grass
Cynodon incompletus of the
Poaceae;
Karoo syndrome Pathology, see
quotation;
Karoo series,
Karoo System Geology, the (structure and formation of the) geological strata characteristic of the Karoo but extending beyond it; also in elliptical form Karoo, sometimes used attributively to allude to the era in which this system was formed; see also Dwyka, Ecca;
Karoo veld /-felt/ [Afrikaans
veld field, land
], parched land typical of the Karoo, or the drought-resistant vegetation such land supports.
1925 Off. Yr Bk of Union No. 7, 1924 (Union Office of Census & Statistics
) 458
Potassic fertilizers are imported in the shape of slats of potash, and there is also a considerable production in the Union, burnt kraal manure (‘Karroo ash’) being largely utilized in this connection.
1937 Handbk for Farmers (Dept of Agric. & Forestry
) 623
Karroo Ash is the name commonly given to the ash obtained by burning kraal manure on the sheep farms of the drier areas, notably the Karroo.
1876 Encycl. Brit. V. 42
The ‘Karoo beds’..are believed from the abundance of fossil wood and fresh-water shells to be of lacustrine origin.
1886 H.C. Lewis in Papers on Diamond (1897) 7The diamond-bearing pipes [at Kimberley] penetrate strata of Triassic age which are known as the Karoo beds.
1961 Webster’s Third Internat. Dict. I. 1233
Karroo caterpillar,..the larva of a pyralidid moth (Loxostege frustralis) that seriously damages fodder in sheep-farming regions of southern Africa.
1973 Cape Times 30 June 11
There have been good rains this year, and the veld was fairly good although much devasted by the Karoo caterpillar.
1974 E. Prov. Herald 21 Dec.
There was a bad drought and a karroo caterpillar plague.
1975 E. Prov. Herald 21 Mar. 4
Mr Pretorius said the Karoo caterpillar did extensive damage by defoliating Karoo bush.
1986 Scholtz & Holm Insects (1985
) 417
Several ichneumonids..are parasitic on the karoo caterpillar, Loxostege frustralis (Pyralidae).
1990 A. Craig in Birding in Sn Afr. Vol.41 No.4
, 123
Although he was little concerned with African birds, the Karoo ChatCercomela schlegelii bears his name.
1929 J.G. Van Alphen Jan Venter 16
‘It’s no joke starting a fire with only dry dung for fuel.’ ‘Karoo coal we call it down at the Cape.’
1801 Truter & Somerville in G.M. Theal Rec. of Cape Col. (1899
) IV. 417
The cattle were extrememly fatigued from the journey over hills and vales and sandy Karoo grounds.
1812 A. Plumptre tr. of H. Lichtenstein’s Trav. in Sn Afr. (1928
) 122
The soil throughout [the Karroo] is a sand mixed with clay or argilacious earth, and contains every where more or less of particles of iron, from which all yellow tinted soil throughout the colony has obtained the name Karroo ground.
1824 W.J. Burchell Trav. II. 44
Such land is called Karro ground by the Cape farmers.
1836 Penny Cyclopaedia VI. 257The soil is a sand mixed with clay containing particles of iron, which gives it a yellowish colour: all soil of a similar colour in other parts of the Colony is called by the name Karroo ground.
1987 Handbill, Connock’s Butchery, GrahamstownSmoked chickens, ‘Karoo oysters’ — liver rolled in caul.
1989 Motorist Aug. 5
For lunch, order what the locals jokingly call ‘Karoo oysters’, and you will be served the most succulent lamb you have ever tasted.
1991 G.E. Gibbs Russell et al. Grasses of Sn Afr. 97
Cynodon incompletus Karroo quick grass.
1974 Dorland’s Illust. Medical Dict. 1522
Karroo s[yndrome], a condition observed in youth among Afrikaners in the Karroo region, consisting of high fever, alimentary tract disturbance, and tenderness in the lymph glands of the neck.
1905 H. Kynaston in Flint & Gilchrist Science in S. Afr. 294
In the western, and particularly in its northern extension, the Karroo System diminishes very considerably in thickness.
1972 D.F. Kokot in Std Encycl. of Sn Afr. VI. 306
A large part of the Karoo..is coterminous with what is known geologically as the Karoo System, which..extends much farther northwards and covers a large part of Southern Africa.
1991 F.G. Butler Local Habitation 270
Andrew Geddes Bain,..a pioneer geologist whose description of the Karoo system of rocks remains virtually intact.
1992 Afr. Wildlife Vol.46 No.6
, 278
A sill of Karoo dolerite intersecting the Mzintlava River.
1822 W.J. Burchell Trav. I. 83
Cords made of the bark of the Karro Thorn-tree.
1822 W.J. Burchell Trav. I. 386
A small spring very pleasantly situated amidst large trees of Karro-thorn.
1824 W.J. Burchell Trav. II. 241
The principal shrubs about Ongeluks Fountain, are the Tarchorianthus, the Hookthorn, the Karrothorn.
1906 F. Blersch Handbk of Agric. 258
The doornboom, karroo thorn, or mimosa (Acacia horrida), become injurious by their getting into and spoiling wool and hair.
1960 U. Krige (tr. of J. van Melle) in D. Wright S. Afr. Stories 133
The sweet scent of the Karoo-thorn flowers filled the air as you passed by.
1795 C.R. Hopson tr. of C.P. Thunberg’s Trav. II. 103
The plants as well herbs as bushes, stand very thin in the carrow-veld.
1837 ‘N. Polson’ Subaltern’s Sick Leave 152
Those reared in the ‘karoo veld,’ or parched lands destitute of all vegetation but a species of bush, eat and thrive on the bush.
1906 F. Blersch Handbk of Agric. 256
In the dry regions the bush veld, or karroo veld prevails, grasses rarely finding sufficient moisture to grow in such localities.
1910 A.B. Lamont Rural Reader 252
Karoo veld is the name applied to the veld in the dry parts of Cape Colony, where grass cannot get enough moisture, but where certain bushes flourish.
1937 Handbk for Farmers (Dept of Agric. & Forestry
) 386
The perennial bushes form the staple, and at times indeed the only, means of subsistence in the Karroo veld.
1958 A. Jackson Trader on Veld 38
The Karroo veld had no trees to provide us with firewood.
1961 H.F. Sampson White-Faced Huts 19
On the scrub of the Karrooveld two Europeans..lay asleep under a little mimosa tree, fanned by a strong berg-wind.
1975 J.P.H. Acocks Veld Types 60
The vegetation today is sparse Karoo veld..with stunted shrubs, especially in rocky (as distinct from stony) places.
The vast, arid inland plateau extending from Langeberg in the south to Cradock (now Enxuba), Pearston, Somerset East and Venterstad in the east and northwards into the Orange Free State; any tract of Karoo-like desert land. Also attributive.
, the main plateau north of the Swartberg
and translation Little Karoo, the southern portion of the Karoo, lying mainly between the Langeberg and the Swartberg; also
attributive.
In full Karoo bush:(any of) numerous species of scrub-like bushes occurring in the Karoo, especially those of the genera
Chrysocoma and
Pentzia; also called
sweet Karoo.
, the (structure and formation of the) geological strata characteristic of the Karoo but extending beyond it; also in
elliptical form
Karoo, sometimes used
attributively to allude to the era in which this system was formed;
, of or pertaining to the Karoo; of Karoo-like structure, climate, vegetation, etc.
, of or pertaining to the Karoo; of Karoo-like structure, climate, vegetation, etc.
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