King, noun

colloquial. An informal name for King William’s Town (now Qonce), a town in the Eastern Cape, once the capital of the 19th century provinces of Queen Adelaide and British Kaffraria. Also attributive.
1880 F.G. Browning Fighting & Farming 118He was immediately sent on to the hospital at ‘King’.
1880 F.G. Browning Fighting & Farming 119A waggon with liquor on board..had come from ‘King’.
1897 G.A. Parker S. Afr. Sports 14Cape Town, King, and Kimberley took part [in the tourney] with the Bayonians.
1913 C. Pettman Africanderisms 260King, Abbreviated form of King William’s Town in general use. This town, named after William IV, is situated at the foot of the Amatolas, on the Buffalo River.
1923 B. Ronan Forty S. Afr. Yrs 80At length we lumbered into ‘King’, and I made the acquaintance of my new comrades.
1956 M. Rogers Black Sash 169From ‘King’ the convoy..will make its way to the Cape via Grahamstown, Port Elizabeth.
1958 I. Vaughan Diary 18We must go on..to a place called King where the Kafirs live always in red blankets.
1971 Daily Dispatch 11 May 10There is naturally a chance that the King councillors might decide they agree with the Schornville removal scheme.
1973 Weekend Post 27 Oct. (Parade) 2A train service was also available from East London..on race days at ‘King’.
An informal name for King William’s Town (now Qonce), a town in the Eastern Cape, once the capital of the 19th century provinces of Queen Adelaide and British Kaffraria. Also attributive.
Derivatives:
Hence Kingite  noun, an inhabitant of King William’s Town.
1993 Daily Dispatch 26 Aug. 4Kingites accuse traffic dept. of selective fining.
1994 Weekend Post 22 Oct. 5Kingites are doing more than painting the town red.
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Kingite

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colloquial
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