knorhaan, noun
- Forms:
- knoorhaan, knoraanShow more Also knoorhaan, knoraan, knorhaen, knorhan, knorrhaan, knorr-haen.
- Plurals:
- unchanged, knorhaans, or (rarely) knorhane /ˈknɔrˌhɑːnə/.
- Origin:
- DutchShow more Transferred use of Dutch knorhaan, see korhaan.
1.
a. obsolescent. korhaan sense 1 a. Also attributive.
1731 G. Medley tr. of P. Kolben’s Present State of Cape of G.H. II. 139The Knorhan. Among the Wild Fowls at the Cape, there is a Sort of Birds, a Male of which the Europeans there call Knor-Cock: A Female they call Knor-Hen. These Birds are a Sort of Centries to the other Birds at the Cape.
1777 G. Forster Voy. round World I. 85The knorhaan..is not a gelinote or grous, as he calls it, but the African bustard.
1786 G. Forster tr. of A. Sparrman’s Voy. to Cape of G.H. I. 153Knorr-haen is the name of a kind of Otis, which conceals itself perfectly, with great art, till one comes pretty near to it, when on a sudden it soars aloft.
1810 J. Mackrill Diary. 87Knorhaan Otis..derives his name from an incessant Cry of ‘Grac’. Knorhaan in the Dutch language signifies, a scolder, he warns all other Birds in his Neighbourhood of an enemy.
a1867 C.J. Andersson Notes of Trav. (1875) 35The Cape Knorhaan Bustard (Eupodotis Afra, Gmel.), is in length nineteen inches, the wing twelve inches, and the tail five inches.
[1890 A. Martin Home Life 226A smaller bustard, with beautifully-variegated plumage, is about the size of a large fowl. His Dutch name of knorhaan —..‘scolding cock’, or ‘growling fowl’ — is very justly bestowed on him.]
1905 W.L. Sclater in Flint & Gilchrist Science in S. Afr. 143The Bustards (Otidae) are represented by no less than twelve species, ranging from the large Gom Paauw (Otis kori)..to the smaller Knorhaan (Otis afra), about the same size as a partridge.
1907 J.P. Fitzpatrick Jock of Bushveld (Glossary) 471Knoorhaan, commonly, but incorrectly, Koorhaan or Koraan, (D), the smaller bustard (lit. scolding cock).
1918 H. Moore Land of Good Hope 12The knorhaan, or ‘scolding fowl’, springing up in your path with deafening clamour.
1931 G. Beet Grand Old Days 15The knorhaan, which with its rusty ‘kruk-kruk-kruk,’ has come to be looked upon by sportsmen as ‘the sentry of the veld.’
1937 H. Sauer Ex Afr. 53The bustard family, divided into two sections: the great bustard, or paauw, of which there are six varieties in Africa, and the lesser bustard, or knoorhaan (grumbling cock), of which there are no less than eleven varieties.
1948 H.V. Morton In Search of S. Afr. 262Upon this road there was..a bird known as the korhaan, or knorhaan, the ‘scolding cock,’ and a good name it is, for I think the meercats employ him as a watchman!
b. With qualifying word denoting a particular species:
dikkop knorhaan [Afrikaans dikkop, dik thick + kop head], the vaal knorhaan, (see korhaan sense 1 b), E. vigorsii;
1867 E.L. Layard Birds of S. Afr. 284The Vaal Knorhaan is common on the Karroo...If it fancies itself unobserved, it will suddenly squat...So great is its similarity to the soil and stones among which it is found that it is next to impossible to detect it.
2. [see quotation 1986.] Any of several marine fishes. a. Any of several species of gurnard of the genus Chelidonichthys (family Triglidae); korhaan sense 2. b. Any of several species of grunter of the genus Pomadasys (family Haemulidae); see also tigerfish sense 2 b.
1900 J.D.F. Gilchrist in Trans. of S. Afr. Philological Soc. Vol.11 No.4, 215The Gurnard or Knorhaan (Trigla peronii) not unlike its European representative (T. gurnardus).
1979 Snyman & Klarie Free from Sea 31Grunter, Silver Grunter/Bull or Cock Grunter/Knoorhaan/Tiger/Spotted Grunter. So named, because when it comes from the water, spasms of the throat muscles cause the teeth to rasp together, which sounds like a man — not a gentleman — clearing his throat!..Gurnard. Knoorhaan. Quaint-looking with its large head encased in a bony shield. It grunts or croaks when taken from the water.
[1986 Smith & Heemstra Smiths’ Sea Fishes 486The American name ‘sea robins’ and Afrikaans ‘knorhane’ come from the bird-like chirping noise some species make when they are taken from the water.]
korhaan1 a. Also attributive.
Any of several species of gurnard of the genus Chelidonichthys (family Triglidae); korhaan2.
Any of several species of grunter of the genus Pomadasys (family Haemulidae);
Copyright © 2020 Dictionary Unit for South African English.
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