vat en sit, adjectival phrase and & noun phrase
- Forms:
- Also vat-’n-sit.
- Origin:
- AfrikaansShow more Afrikaans, ‘stay put’, vat take + en and + sit sit.
colloquial
In urban (especially township) English:
A. adjectival phrase Of a relationship between a man and a woman: common-law, unsolemnized, ‘live-in’; of a person: in such a relationship; of an attitude or opinion: favouring such a relationship.
1959 L. Longmore Dispossessed 32There inevitably comes the day when he fancies someone else and tries to get rid of his vat en sit woman.
1978 S. Mhlongo in Staffrider Vol.1 No.2, 10Marriage counsellors and lobola instalments are customs rotting in the garbage since the willing patriots of the new idealism became authoritative here, with the ‘vat en sit’ stance to the fore.
B. noun phrase An unsolemnized or common-law marriage; a marriage undertaken without attention to custom. See also to vat en sit (vat sense 1).
1977 J. Sikakane Window on Soweto 17They had developed a system, dubbed ‘vat en sit’, meaning practically ‘let’s marry on our own without conforming to family tradition and the church’.
1988 Pace June 4Townships in the Kwa-Zulu capital of Ulundi are known for four things: vat-en-sits, early marriages, alcoholism and kwaai wives.
Of a relationship between a man and a woman: common-law, unsolemnized, ‘live-in’; of a person: in such a relationship; of an attitude or opinion: favouring such a relationship.
An unsolemnized or common-law marriage; a marriage undertaken without attention to custom.
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