rooi-aas, noun

/ˈrɔɪ ɑːs/
Forms:
Also rooias.
Origin:
AfrikaansShow more Afrikaans, rooi red + aas bait, carrion; see quotation 1916.
red-bait.
1895 Agric. Jrnl (Dept of Agric. Cape Col.) 912The bait most used is crayfish, and ‘rooiaas’ (red bait) a species of Zoophyte.
1905 H.E.B. Brooking in E. London Dispatch 30 MayOf the baits available..‘rooi-aas’..is given the preference because..far more are taken upon ‘rooi-aas’, and the fish bite upon it more freely.
1905 J.D.F. Gilchrist in Flint & Gilchrist Science in S. Afr. 192One of the features of the rocky parts of the coast line from Cape Point eastwards is the clusters of ‘rooias’ or ‘red bait’ (a large Ascidian) which cover the rocks.
1913 W.W. Thompson Sea Fisheries of Cape Col. 62The ‘red bait’ (Polycarpa), or rooi-as, as it is locally known, is an Ascidian belonging to the order Tunicata or sea-squirts.
1918 S.H. Skaife Animal Life in S. Afr. 197All around the South African coast the so-called red-bait or rooiaas, is very commom. Anglers know it as a soft, red animal enclosed in a tough, protective coat of a dull green colour.
1923 S. Afr.: Land of Outdoor Life (S.A.R. & H.) 150Typical winter fishing..is confined to the conquest of the red stump-nose..and the galjoen, principally on the ascidian known as rooiaas or red bait.
1952 N. Orpen in Bosman & Bredell Veld Trails & Pavements 147He..occasionally earned by collecting bait..for a few regular anglers who came down to collect their rooi aas, mussels, or chokka from him before going back to the warmer side of the barren Cape of Good Hope.
1973 Weekend Post 3 Mar. 2Fishermen from George..recently made the observation that good old red bait, or ‘rooi aas’ might possibly be an aphrodisiac.
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18951973

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Afrikaans
roofie, nounn.rooibaadjie, nounn.
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