suikerbos, noun

/ˈsœɪkə(r)bɔs//ˈseɪkəbɔs/
Forms:
suikerbosch, suiker-bosjeShow more Formerly also suikerbosch, suiker-bosje, zuiker-bosch, zuyker-bosch.
Origin:
Afrikaans, South African Dutch, DutchShow more Afrikaans, earlier South African Dutch zuikerbosch, from Dutch zuiker sugar + bos, bosch bush.
sugarbush. Also attributive, and suikerbossie [see -ie].
1795 [see tulp-boom].
1821 C.I. Latrobe Jrnl of Visit (Glossary) 397Zuyker-bosch — Protea mellifera.
1822 W.J. Burchell Trav. I. 18The delicate Humming-birds..are..called by the Dutch colonists Suiker-vogels (sugar birds), from having been observed..to feed principally on the honey of the flowers of the Suiker-bosch (sugar-bush).
1852 C. Barter Dorp & Veld 74We came upon knolls covered with the evergreen Suiker bos a graceful shrub.
1887 A.A. Anderson 25 Yrs in Waggon I. 210The fine flat-topped Kameel doorn is very common, palms, baobab,..zuiker-bosch, acacia.
1893 ‘Africanus’ in Cape Illust. Mag. July 418[The mountain protea] is of the same family as the suiker-bosje, but does not seem to have the sweet juice.
1937 S. Cloete Turning Wheels 104As he rode past a clump of soikerbos [sic] a duiker sprang out, and..made for a clump of heavy thorn scrub fifty yards away.
1952 Cape Times 4 Sept. 5The five dozen selected proteas include..two varieties of the furry suikerbos type.
1961 Redwing (St Andrew’s College, Grahamstown) 5About the only plants that flourished here were the suikerbos, handsome and great in their surroundings.
1971 Argus 10 July 5Now is the time to see all those lovely Proteas and suikerbossies in full bloom.
1974 A.P. Cartwright By Waters of Letaba 14Where the suikerbos grew there was no malaria, they said, but below this level, where it was too warm for proteas to flourish.., there lay the danger.
1977 Fair Lady 12 Oct. 14The protea has about 130 species. These include what is known as the ‘King Protea’ (P cynaroides), South Africa’s national flower, and the ubiquitous suikerbossie (P repens).
1980 Afr. Wildlife Vol.34 No.4, 30Bossiestroop from the suikerbos (P. repens) was a cough mixture found in all self-respecting medicine chests about 100 years ago.
sugarbush. Also attributive, and suikerbossie [see -ie].
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Afrikaans
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suikerbekje, nounn.suip, verb intransitivev.
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