Definitions
Sorry, no definitions found. Check out and contribute to the discussion of this word!
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word hottentot.
Examples
-
Hottentots Holland was the name given to the Somerset West area by the earliest white settlers, and "hottentot" was the term used for the
-
In Maxine's book your probably half a step away from having a fling with a married west african hottentot and/or moving to Kiribati.
The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. Ann Althouse 2008
-
They too loved the hottentot, everyone loves the circus.
Archive 2007-06-01 Kay Olson 2007
-
They too loved the hottentot, everyone loves the circus.
Poetry Monday: Wordgathering, Issue 2 Kay Olson 2007
-
Templetombmount joyntstone, (let him pass, pleasegood-jesusalem, in a bundle of straw, he was balbettised after hay — making) you squandered among underlings the overload of your extravagance and made a hottentot of dulpeners crawsick with your crumbs?
Finnegans Wake 2006
-
At the small pub, Cementen, British Kat Francois and Linton Kwesi-Johnson had just performed on stage when Hatlehol came on to introduce the Norwegian poet Kjell Vindtorn and used the word ‘hottentotskjørt’ which means ‘hottentot skirt.’
Archive 2006-10-01 2006
-
At the small pub, Cementen, British Kat Francois and Linton Kwesi-Johnson had just performed on stage when Hatlehol came on to introduce the Norwegian poet Kjell Vindtorn and used the word ‘hottentotskjørt’ which means ‘hottentot skirt.’
-
A limited number of snoek fishers will also be able to apply for subsistence permits which will enable them to legally sell their daily bag limit of 10 snoek or 10 hottentot.
-
Permits would also be issued to snoek and hottentot fishermen who wished to sell their daily bag of 10 fish each, Jordan said in
-
Permits will also be issued to snoek and hottentot fishers who wish to sell their daily bag of 10 fish per person.
rocksinmypockets commented on the word hottentot
Hey reesetee, I *love* the feel and sound of this word. It took me a while to find it's avian connection: the Hottentot Teal. It has some other, much less lovely, associations in it's closet, too.
October 15, 2007
reesetee commented on the word hottentot
Yes, it does, unfortunately. I hesitated adding this for that reason, but since it's on my list of bird adjectives, I figured the association would be relatively clear. (On the other hand, if it took you a while to make the connection...Hmm....)
October 15, 2007
rocksinmypockets commented on the word hottentot
I definitely think you should leave it in the list. The context is *exactly* what prompted me to keep looking, and hence, to keep learning! What better way to dilute the negative association than to educate?
Besides, the world is already full of contradiction. This word is a lovely reminder to 1) seek out what is beautiful, and 2) remember what we (as humans) have done, so as not to repeat what ought not be repeated.
October 15, 2007
reesetee commented on the word hottentot
A wonderfully stated argument--and I agree. Thanks. :-) Interesting note: Some names of birds *have* actually been changed because of their negative connotations. "Oldsquaw," for example, became "Long-Tailed Duck" not too long ago, in part because of concerns that the former name might offend Native Americans involved in conservation efforts. The AOU, the U.S. organization charged with creating standard classifications, said that this consideration alone wasn't the reason for the name change, but it certainly played a part.
October 15, 2007
bilby commented on the word hottentot
Mild, melancholy, and sedate, he stands,
Tending another's flock upon the fields,
His father's once, where now the White Man builds
His home, and issues forth his proud commands.
His dark eye flashes not; his listless hands
Lean on the shepherd's staff; no more he wields
The Libyan bow -- but to th' oppressor yields
Submissively his freedom and his lands.
Has he no courage? Once he had -- but, lo!
Harsh Servitude hath worn him to the bone.
No enterprise? Alas! the brand, the blow,
Have humbled him to dust -- even hope is gone!
"He's a base-hearted hound -- not worth his food" --
His Master cries -- "he has no gratitude!"
- Thomas Pringle, 'The Hottentot'.
February 13, 2009