skraal, adjective
/skrɑːl/
- Origin:
- AfrikaansShow more Afrikaans, thin; flimsy, meagre.
1. colloquial. Thin, scrawny, ‘skinny’. Also figurative, meagre.
1970 Informant, GrahamstownThe little boy is skraal and fair-haired.
1981 L. & P. Robertson-Hotz in Bloody Horse No.3, 37Two skraal, yellow dogs rushed out and started barking.
1991 J. Silva Informant, GrahamstownShe’s very skraal, with a dark brown bob.
1991 K. Sullivan Informant, Cape TownMy bank balance is skraal this month (meagre).
2. slang. Hungry.
1970 M. Bennett Informant, KrugersdorpSkraal. Hungry.
1978 L. Barnes in The 1820 Vol.51 No.12, 19If somebody says I’m skraal, he probably does not mean he is thin, as one would expect, but rather that he is hungry.
1991 K. Sullivan Informant, Cape TownI am feeling a bit skraal — haven’t eaten the whole day.
Thin, scrawny, ‘skinny’. Also figurative, meagre.
Hungry.
Copyright © 2019 Dictionary Unit for South African English.
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