verkrampte, noun and & adjective

/fə(r)ˈkramp(tə)/
Origin:
AfrikaansShow more Afrikaans, ‘extremely conservative’ (the attributive and noun form of verkramp, see verkramp). Coined by W. de Klerk.
A. noun a. historical. A member of the National Party with very rigid and conservative views, especially in matters of racial segregation; in pl., collectively, the right wing of the party. b. transferred sense One who is regarded as conservative or narrow-minded in politics, religion, social attitudes, etc.; a bigot. Also attributive. Cf. verligte noun.
1967 Race Rel. News (S.A.I.R.R.) Sept. 7The verligtes-verkramptes controversy must have raised in many minds the hope of a change of outlook in influential South African circles.
1969 Sunday Times 31 Aug. 19Things are certainly hotting up inside the Nationalist Party. The right-wing (hereinafter called the verkramptes..) are a growing threat to Mr. Vorster and his supporters (hereinafter referred to, for want of a better word, as the verligtes).
[1969 Times (U.K.) 18 Sept. 9The Army and its political directors have come in for much criticism..from Unionist verkramptes, for apparent irresolution in bringing down the barricades.]
1972 Sunday Times 5 Mar. 3A gulf is developing between the party’s verligtes and verkramptes over whether the party should close or open their ranks to ensure survival.
1978 Daily Dispatch 17 Oct. 8As they are used in South Africa by the English language press they mean..that a ‘verkrampte’ is a conservative realist devoted to his country and a ‘verligte’ is a liberal devoted to God knows what.
1979 Indaba 9 Nov. 7Long before she arrived in South Africa and sent the verkramptes in a dizzy spell, the promoter Quibell Brothers, were worried about Millie’s sexy acts.
1987 ‘Dekaffirnated Stan’ in Drum Apr. 33The Pretoria verkrampte’s fear of being with us in the dark for hours reminds one of the old joke about the sun never setting in the British Empire because God could not trust them in the dark.
1990 Frontline Jan. 29You can make a tick on your sightseeing list for having met a definite 100% traditional verkrampte if you find people saying: Every white man can take ten kaffirs with him.
B. adjective verkramp.
1968 Green Bay Tree (pamphlet) p.xivThe most verkrampte Nationalist politicians are frightened of liberal foreign propaganda appearing on their screens.
1972 Argus 16 Sept. 2I’m conservative, not verkrampte.
1977 E. Prov. Herald 18 Nov. 3A judge ruled that it was potentially actionable for a man to be called ‘verkrampt’.
1977 Sunday Times 27 Nov. 2A triumph for verkrampte Nationalists in the Transvaal and a humiliating defeat for those so-called verligtes who believe they can reform the NP from within.
1980 N. Ferreira Story of Afrikaner 115There was a ruthless power struggle beneath the surface between verligte and verkrampte forces.
1981 Observer (U.K.) 5 Apr. 11Like most black African Muslims, Edvis favours a liberal interpretation of the Koran, being verligte rather than verkrampte in that regard.
1983 Evening Post 11 May 6The gravest error he could make now would be for him to halt his reform plans to try to woo back verkrampte voters.
1987 ‘K. De Boer’ in Frontline Mar. 36Challenged the ultra-verkrampte Transvaalse Onderwysersunie’s rejection of mixed school sport.
1993 C. Louw in Weekly Mail 8 Apr. 15President FW de Klerk managed to change his public image overnight from a ‘verkrampte’ cabinet minister to that of an international statesman.
A member of the National Party with very rigid and conservative views, especially in matters of racial segregation; in pl., collectively, the right wing of the party.
One who is regarded as conservative or narrow-minded in politics, religion, social attitudes, etc.; a bigot. Also attributive.
Derivatives:
Hence (nonce) verkramptedom  noun, ultra-conservatism, bigotry; verkramptologist  noun, see quotation 1971.
1971 Cape Times 22 July 6For budding verkramptologists the past few weeks have been heavy going. Students of the Nationalist ideological conflict on Coloured policy were having a tough enough time when published statements were not being denied before the ink was dry.
1990 Frontline Jan. 29There are other proofs of verkramptedom, more common among white society overall, but overseas visitors seldom come across them.
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verkramp, adjectiveadj.verkramptheid, nounn.
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