tambotie, noun

/tamˈbʊti//tæmˈbuːti//tamˈbəʊti/
Forms:
ntomboti, tamboetieShow more Also ntomboti, tamboetie, tamboote, tambooti, tambootie, tamboti, tambouti, tamboutie, tambuti, umtamboti, umtomboti, and with initial capital.
Origin:
IsiXhosa, isiZuluShow more IsiXhosa and isiZulu umthombothi poison tree (see quotation 1966).
1. In full tambotie tree: the deciduous tree Spirostachys africana of the Euphorbiaceae, with scented, durable wood and caustic sap; the timber of this tree; jumping bean sense 2 a; sandalwood; Tambookie noun sense 3. Also attributive.
1852 J.S. Christopher Natal 32The yellow, assegai, iron..and Tamboote wood grow in abundance.
1871 J. Mackenzie Ten Yrs N. of Orange River 460The tall and resinous tambootie tree, which I selected for beams and rafters, was easily split.
1887 A.A. Anderson 25 Yrs in Waggon I. 42Some of the most valuable [timber trees] are...Witgatboom, Tambootie.
1913 C. Pettman Africanderisms 522Umtamboti,..Excoecaria africana. The sap of this tree is very virulent; a drop in the eye has been known to cause blindness.
1936 E.C. Llewellyn Influence of Low Dutch 165Tambouki-grass and Tambouki-wood,..so named because they grow in Tembu-land;..another form of the word, Tambooti, shows the use of the diminutive -tje.
1945 N. Devitt People & Places 116Along the banks of the Umsimvubu grows a tree known as the umtomboti. It produces a handsome, mahogany coloured, scented wood. It is made into necklaces by the Pondos.
1950 H.C. Bosman in L. Abrahams Unto Dust (1963) 43Inside were tamboetie wood trestles for the coffins.
[1966 C.A. Smith Common Names 464Tombotieboom,...The vernacular prefix ‘tombotie’, is corrupted from the original native name ‘um Thomboti’, which refers to the caustic properties of the sap and means ‘a poison tree’.]
1970 B. Davidson Old Afr. 213Fragments of drainage timber recovered..have yielded dates between Ad 591 and Ad 702...The wood in question is of tambootie, a tree of great longevity.
1980 Fiat Lux May 13Traditionally, tambuti was used by the Zulus in the construction of their huts. Tambuti huts were staked into the ground.
1991 Style Apr. 102Use only ironwood for your camp fire. Some wood, like Ntomboti, known as tambotie, can make you very sick.
2. In full tambotie grass: Tambookie noun sense 2. Also attributive.
1866 T. Geast S. Afr. Diaries 42I observed that almost every stem of the long tambootie grass had a silken filament flying from it.
1880 E.F. Sandeman Eight Months in Ox-Waggon 304My bed of soft aromatic tambooti-grass felt more comfortable and grateful than any feather bed ever did before.
1893 J.F. Ingram Story of Gold Concession 142I..left my blood on the tall blades of the tambootie grass.
1905 Pearson & Pardy in Flint & Gilchrist Science in S. Afr. 432‘Tambootie grass’ land is excellent for cane.
1939 Outspan 29 Dec. 31Tambootie grass at the height of six feet, as dense as a forest, quite dry, was burning fiercely.
1948 O. Walker Kaffirs Are LivelyThe tall tambootie grass.
1987 D. Kenmuir Tusks & Talisman 48A dull, crackling roar rose from the valley below, tambuti grass feeding the fire in an orgy of destruction.
In full tambotie tree:the deciduous tree Spirostachys africana of the Euphorbiaceae, with scented, durable wood and caustic sap; the timber of this tree; jumping bean sense 2 a; sandalwood; Tambookie noun sense 3. Also attributive.
In full tambotie grass: Tambookie noun sense 2. Also attributive.
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18521991

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Tambookie, nounn. & adjectiveadj.tameletjie, nounn.
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