kurper, noun

/ˈkɜːpə//ˈkərpə(r)/
Forms:
Also kerper, kurpur.
Plurals:
unchanged.
Origin:
Afrikaans, DutchShow more Afrikaans, from Dutch karper (see karper).
Any of several freshwater fishes, especially:
1. Usually with defining word, Cape kurper: the labyrinth fish Sandelia capensis of the Anabantidae; karper sense 1.
1831 S. Afr. Quarterly Jrnl Oct. 19Kurper...Inhabits most of the rivers towards the Southern extremity of Africa.
1913 C. Pettman Africanderisms 285Kurper or Kerper,..Spirobranchus capensis, a well-known fresh-water fish.
1947 K.H. Barnard Pict. Guide to S. Afr. Fishes 80The Cape Kurper (Sandelia capensis).
1952 Cape Times 31 Jan. 9The casualties include..mudfish, carp and kurpur.
1967 R.A. Jubb Freshwater Fishes of Sn Afr. 175Sandelia capensis...Cape kurper...Confined to the South Coastal drainage basin from the Langvlei River..to the Coega River.
1987 E. Prov. Herald 22 Aug. 5A survey of the river life conducted by the Cape Department of Nature Conservation in September, 1984, showed that the indigenous fish, the Cape kurper, could no longer be found.
1993 P. Skelton Freshwater Fishes of Sn Afr. 338Cape kurper..Sandelia capensis.
2. Any of several species of cichlid of the genus Tilapia.
1967 R.A. Jubb Freshwater Fishes of Sn Afr. 161Tilapia mossambica..Bream or kurper...This species..is widely distributed..in the rivers of the east coast.
1973 Farmer’s Weekly 13 June 11These simple plants could..provide food for the weed-eating fish such as the moggel (sand fish) or tilapia (kurper).
1982 S. Afr. Fishing Apr.–May 22In October Roodeplaat dam starts coming to life...Bass, barbel and sometimes..a kurper will snatch a lure or a porridge bait. Carp are active as well.
1988 C. Norman in S. Afr. Panorama Dec. 367The indigenous angling fishes include several species of tilapia, or kurper, a family of broad, flat, silvery fish which in their many forms are found throughout the continent...The sweet white flesh..is such good eating flesh that several species now form the basis of fish-farming projects in far corners of the world.
1993 H. Bouwman in Afr. Wildlife Vol.47 No.1, 11Butter fish and blue kurpur from Mzinyeni Pan..had higher levels of DDT when compared with the same species from other pans.
Usually with defining word, Cape kurper:the labyrinth fish Sandelia capensis of the Anabantidae; karper sense 1.
Any of several species of cichlid of the genus Tilapia.
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Afrikaans
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Kung, nounn.Kurrichane, nounn.
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