witgat, noun

/ˈvətxat/
Forms:
vittkut, whit haatShow more Formerly also vittkut, whit haat, whitte haat, wigat, wilgat, witte-gat.
Origin:
South African Dutch, Dutch, Khoikhoi, AfrikaansShow more South African Dutch, from Dutch wit (or combining form witte) white + gat, perhaps adaptation of Khoikhoi kaa/kchaa drink (cf. Afrikaans gat, gaat coffee made from the roots of this tree); but often understood as Afrikaans gat hole.
1. In full witgat tree, witgat boom /- bʊəm/ [South African Dutch, boom tree] the evergreen tree Boscia albitrunca of the Capparaceae, with white trunk and dense foliage; shepherd’s tree. Also attributive.
1824 W.J. Burchell Trav. II. 18A number of scattered trees, distinguished..by the color of their trunks, which appeared at a little distance as if they had been whitewashed. From this singular character, they have gained the name of Wit-gat boom.
1826 A.G. Bain Jrnls (1949) 39We resumed our journey..with much difficulty, it being so very thickly overgrown with brushwood, Wagt en Beetjis camelthorn and Wit gat trees.
[1834 T. Pringle Afr. Sketches 514The tree..is termed by the Dutch-African colonists the witte-gat boom (white-bark tree).]
1886 G.A. Farini Through Kalahari Desert 111Kert pointed out a whithaat boom (white ass tree).
1907 E. London Dispatch 16 Aug. (Pettman)The root of the wit-gat or shepherd’s tree are other favourite foods [of the porcupine].
1958 A. Jackson Trader on Veld 24The poorer people roasted the root of a tree called ‘Witgatboom’, and ground it for coffee or at least added it to the Rio to make it last longer.
1969 D. Child Yesterday’s Children 133The little grave was dug under a witgatboom, a tree conspicuous because of its white trunk.
1976 V. Rosenberg Sunflower 35There were..groves of tambotie trees.., and the witgat with its rambling trunk structure and mushroom top whose roots yielded an ersatz type of coffee.
1992 C. Norman in Sunday Times 20 Sept. (Mag. Sect.) 31Witgat trees growing out of solid stone cast pools of shade.
2. combinations
witgat coffee, witgatkoffie/-ˌkɔfi/ [Afrikaans], a hot beverage made from the roasted and ground roots of the witgat tree.
1958 R.E. Lighton Out of Strong 67Labuschagne drank the rotten witgat coffee.
1961 L.E. Van Onselen Trekboer 57It tasted like the hot breath of a dragon with halitosis...The coffee was ‘wit-gat’ coffee made from the root of a tree.
1955 L.G. Green Karoo 105Until you become used to it, witgatkoffie often acts as a purgative.
1974 J.M. Coetzee Dusklands 99We lived..on roots and on nestlings...I made witgatkoffie and enjoyed it.
In full witgat tree, witgat boomthe evergreen tree Boscia albitrunca of the Capparaceae, with white trunk and dense foliage; shepherd’s tree. Also attributive.
, a hot beverage made from the roasted and ground roots of the witgat tree.
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wit els, noun phrasen. phr.with, adverbadv.
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