spitskop, noun

/ˈspətskɔp/
Forms:
Also spitzkop.
Origin:
Afrikaans, Dutch, German, South African DutchShow more Afrikaans, from Dutch spits (German spitz) pointed peak + kop, kopje head (‘hill’ in South African Dutch).
1. ?obsolete. A sharply pointed or conical hill. Also spitskopje [see -ie], and attributive.
1872 J.L. Babe S. Afr. Diamond Fields 103When the traveler [sic] passes through the Free State by Fauresmith, he has the tabular mountains and spitzkops, so common and all-prevailing in South Africa.
1889 Argus Annual & S. Afr. Dir. 849Stony hills and knolls — known locally as randjies and spitskops.
1905 G.W. Stow Native Races of S. Afr. 396The headquarters of ’Kousopp were at the two spitzkopjes to the left of the ’Gumaap.
1908 M.C. Bruce New Tvl 4A flat-topped mountain and its inevitable companion a cone-shaped spitz-kop, and over all burns a hot blue sky.
1920 F.C. Cornell Glamour of Prospecting 188On the horizon, westward, a jagged line of fantastic-looking peaks show faintly blue in the shimmering heat, prominent among them being the two pointed spitz kopjes which mark the spot where the Molopo joins the Orange.
[1931 V. Sampson Kom Binne 144A conical hill, like a bell tent in shape, called by the Dutch a spitzkop.]
1937 A.H. Goodwin in I. Schapera Bantu-Speaking Tribes 33The flat-topped and ‘spitzkop’ hills so typical of the Karroo country and other parts.
2. transferred sense. spitskool.
1968 Farmer’s Weekly 3 Jan. 91 (advt)Cabbage Plants. Spitskop; Cauliflower, Southern Cross, 30 cents 100.
A sharply pointed or conical hill. Also spitskopje [see -ie], and attributive.
Entry Navigation

Visualise Quotations

Quotation summary

Senses

18721968

Browse Related Words

By Category

Topography and Physical Features
Foods and Dishes

By Origin

Afrikaans
Dutch

By Usage

obsolete or obsolescent
spitskool, nounn.spitting snake, noun phrasen. phr.
Copyright © 2025 Dictionary Unit for South African English