skimmel, adjective and & noun
/ˈskəməl/
- Forms:
- Also schimel, schimmel.
- Origin:
- Afrikaans, DutchShow more Afrikaans, adaptation of Dutch schimmel mildew; mottled; grey horse (from schimmelen to mildew, grow mouldy).
A. adjective
1. Roan, grey, or dappled; often with defining words, as
blaauw skimmel, blauw skimmel obsolete [Dutch, blaauw blue], or blue skimmel, blue roan or dapple grey;
rooi skimmel /rɔɪ -/ [Afrikaans, rooi red] or red skimmel, red roan or strawberry roan; also attributive.
1832 Graham’s Town Jrnl 10 Aug. 1271 red schimmel Ox, slit ear, marked ‘E.D.’
1832 Graham’s Town Jrnl 24 Aug. 1351 red and White Cow,..1 red schimmel Horse, sore back, 1 blue schimmel Mare.
1877 C. Andrews Reminiscences of Kafir War 1834–5. 5We observed several horses grazing, in charge of a coloured boy riding a very nice red schimmel horse.
1877 T. Baines Gold Regions of S.-E. Afr. 66A ‘blaauw-schimmel paard’ is a dappled grey, and others are distinguished as red or brown, according to their colour.
1920 F.C. Cornell Glamour of Prospecting 320One of the natives had a horse I greatly coveted. It was nothing to look at, a shabby-looking little blue roan (blaauw schimmel) pony of about 14.2, but a perfect marvel for endurance..and capable apparently of living on stones.
1976 O. Levinson Story of Namibia 45The story goes that Franke, who usually rode a ‘Schimmel’ or white horse, went off to reconnoitre upon his arrival at Omaruru.
2. figurative. In the special collocation skimmel day [partial translation of Afrikaans skimmeldag], see quotation.
1877 T. Baines Gold Regions of S.-E. Afr. 66I may as well explain that schimmel means mottled or dappled. Schimmel day is when the light clouds begin to be dappled with the tints of early dawn, but the word is generally used to imply the time of dawn, even though there are no clouds.
B. noun A grey, roan, or dappled horse. Also with defining words, as at sense A 1.
1849 E.D.H.E. Napier Excursions in Sn Afr. I. 295I was as brusquely informed, that if I wanted to purchase the ‘schimmel’ (roan), I must return in the evening.
1852 C. Barter Dorp & Veld 109 (Pettman)This feat was performed..by one horse, a large grey or schimmel, the favourite colour in South Africa.
1852 A.W. Cole Cape & Kafirs 51He rides a horse about fourteen hands high, which he calls a red-schimmel, but which you would term a roan.
1882 C. Du Val With Show through Sn Afr. I. 163We stayed two nights at Port Alfred, and on the second of these I bought another horse — a ‘rooi schimmel’ (red roan).
1899 Natal Agric. Jrnl 31 Mar. 4‘Schimmel,’ a roan horse, although in Dictionary Dutch it means a grey horse.
1899 A. Werner Captain of Locusts 57My schimmel was quite fresh still — I gave him a cut over the flanks and let him out to do his best.
1910 J. Buchan Prester John 182The shock of my entering the saddle made the schimmel fling up his head violently, and the rope snapped.
1931 V. Sampson Kom Binne 146They were fine animals, red roans, known as rooi-schimmel, the most hardy of horses for South African conditions, ponies in activity and endurance, hackneys in size, bone and make.
1939 S. Cloete Watch for Dawn 152Petrus clung to the mane of his skimmel, riding with his head bent.
1955 L.G. Green Karoo 79Riding his little roan skimmel from Colesberg to Cape Town..in less than six days.
1971 Farmer’s Weekly 12 Mar. 104Stud comprises some 20 animals including 8 tip-top Mares, 6 Fillies, etc., plus Vonk the sire (skimmel) who is producing true to type.
, see quotation.
A grey, roan, or dappled horse. Also with defining words, as at A 1.
Copyright © 2020 Dictionary Unit for South African English.
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