makwerekwere, plural noun

/məˌkwereˈkwere/
Forms:
amakwerekwere, kwerekwereShow more Also amakwerekwere (plural); singular and plural kwerekwere, kwere kwere. Also with initial capitals.
Origin:
IsiXhosaShow more Etymology uncertain: probably from plural noun prefixes ama-, ma- prefix3 + isiXhosa ikwerekwere foreigner (onomatopoeic, imitating attempts to speak an unfamiliar African language).
colloquial, derogatory, offensive
A xenophobic term used to refer to immigrants or refugees, typically people of Black African descent from other African countries. See also kwere.
2001 P. Mpe in Mail & Guardian 20 Dec. 29Hillbrowans..have taken to labelling, negatively, any black people they suspect of coming from other African countries as makwerekwere...
2005 I.M. Moolla in City Press 25 Sept. 24 (letter)It is disgusting to note that xenophobia in South Africa is so widespread...The word makwerekwere is commonly used by locals to refer to black foreigners, who take offence to the derogatory term.
2007 B. Vergotine in The Big Issue June 27One Angolan refugee sums up the frustration, “People here don’t like refugees. They call us amakwerekwere. I don’t think there will be any change for refugees in this country.”
2013 dailymaverick.co.za (DSAE Corpus)They are the makwerekwere, cloistered in the margins of formal society where they compete with the poorest South Africans to eke out a menial living.
2015 medialternatives.com 11 Dec.I regard all the following terms as hate speech:..‘Kwerekwere’ ...
2016 dailymaverick.co.za (DSAE Corpus)They just wanted to get rid of the amakwerekwere down the road...
2016 sowetanlive.co.za (DSAE Corpus)[C]an’t they just deport this kwere kwere?
A xenophobic term used to refer to immigrants or refugees, typically people of Black African descent from other African countries.
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20012016
makulu, adjectiveadj.mal, adjectiveadj.
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