veldwagtmeester, noun

/ˈfeltˌvaxmɪəstə(r)//ˈfeltˌvaɡtmɪəstə(r)/
Forms:
feld waght meester, feld wagt meesterShow more Also feld waght meester, feld wagt meester, veldtwagtemeester, veldtwagtmeester, veld valkt meester, veldwachtmeester, veldwaghtermeester, veldwaghtmeester, veldwagmeester, and with initial capital(s).
Origin:
South African Dutch, DutchShow more South African Dutch, from Dutch veldwacht field patrol, country guard, veld (battle)field + wacht a military unit + meester master.
historical
A colonial peace-officer at the Cape, whose duties included measuring land by pacing, assisting the Magistrate with military duties in times of war, and settling land disputes.
Note:
Subsequently given extended powers under the new name of veld-kornet (sense 1).
c1795 W.S. Van Ryneveld in G.M. Theal Rec. of Cape Col. (1897) I. 252Veld Wagtmeesters were those persons appointed by the Landdrost and the College of Burgher Officers to execute some functions belonging strictly to the Magistrate or other persons whose duty it is to preserve good order in a certain part of the district.
1797 Earl Macartney in S.D. Naudé Kaapse Plakkaatboek Deel V (1950) 100The ‘Veldwachtmeesters’ of the Cape district are to be proposed by the Burgher Senate and to be appointed by the Government...In the first place they are in the country districts to maintain public peace and good order among the inhabitants.
1877 T. Baines Gold Regions of S.-E. Afr. 72Not many years ago their own surveyor general was mobbed for using a theodolite in the streets of Potchefstroom instead of stepping off the distance like the Veld-Valkt meester of the good old times.
1890 J. Macdonald Light in Afr. 4There were no surveyors nor surveyor’s implements in the country, and the ‘official pacer,’ or Veldt wagt meester, could take an extra long step when measuring for a friend or favourite.
1904 H.A. Bryden Hist. of S. Afr. 36The quantity of land upon a Government farm, according to the old Dutch custom, consisted in the distance covered in one hour’s walk across it. The Veld-waght-meester, or peace officer, was usually called in to pace the distance in dispute.
1927 C.G. Botha Social Life in Cape Col. 72The Field Cornet, formerly known as a ‘Veldwagter’ or ‘Veldwagmeester’ (Field Guard), undertook duties of a judicial and civil nature and in time of war acted in a military capacity.
1936 Cambridge Hist. of Brit. Empire VIII. 194This step was followed by a codification of the functions of the Landdrost and his heemraden together with an important extension of the civil functions of the veld wachtmeester, now renamed veld kornet, whose relation to the central authority became analogous to that of the Tudor justice of the peace.
1968 E.A. Walker Hist. of Sn Afr. 135The veldwachtmeester had accumulated civil in addition to his military duties. All these duties were now regularized and his name changed to veldkornet.
1981 Newton-King & Malherbe Khoikhoi Rebellion 7Other measures were unofficial, but were often given tacit sanction by veldwachtmeesters and landdrosts — deserters, when recaptured, were savagely beaten and sometimes put in irons.
1988 P.E. Raper tr. of R.J. Gordon’s Cape Trav. 1777–86 I. 81This Koerikei called to the veldtwagtemeester Van der Merwe..while standing on a cliff.
A colonial peace-officer at the Cape, whose duties included measuring land by pacing, assisting the Magistrate with military duties in times of war, and settling land disputes.
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17951988

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Veldskoendraer, nounn.velkombers, nounn.
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