Namaquan.adj.
/nəˈmakwə/, /nəˈmɑːkwə/, U.S. /nəˈmɑkwə/, South African English /nəˈmækwə/, /nəˈmɑːkwə/ A. n.
1. = Nama n. 1.
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the world > people > ethnicities > peoples of Africa > peoples of Southern Africa > [noun] > Khoekhoe > Khoekhoe peoples
Namaqua1670
Kora1801
Nama1881
Naman1930
1670 J. Ogilvy Africa 576 The chiefest people hitherto discover'd in this Southerly part of Africa, are the Gorachouqua's, Goringhaiqua's, Goringhaikona's, Kochoqua's,..Namaqua's, Heusaqua's, Brigoudins, and Hankumqua's.
1688 tr. G. Tachard Voy. to Siam (new ed.) ii. 74 The Namaquas..are all tall of Stature and strong.
1731 G. Medley tr. P. Kolb Present State Cape Good-Hope I. 66 We come now to the two Nations, call'd the Greater and Lesser Namaqua. The Lesser lies on the Coast; the Greater is the next Nation East ward.
1790 E. Helme tr. F. Le Vaillant Trav. Afr. I. vii. 133 I had been assured there were some [gazelles] in the country of the great Namaquois.
1822 W. J. Burchell Trav. Interior S. Afr. I. 582 To the Hottentot Race are referable the tribes denominated Bushmen, the Namaquas, and Koras or Koraquas, as well as the Hottentots proper.
1880 Encycl. Brit. XI. 731/2 3000 Bushmen, 1500 Namaqua.
1930 I. Schapera Khoisan Peoples S. Afr. i. ii. 48 The Great Namaqua were always the most northerly group of Hottentots, and probably formed the rearguard of their invasion of South Africa.
1959 Chambers's Encycl. VII. 248/1 In south-west Africa many of the 15,000 Namaqua retain their Hamitic speech.
1977 R. Elphick Kraal & Castle 135 To modern scholars the Namaqua are the most familiar of all Khoikhoi peoples.
1992 F. McLynn Hearts of Darkness i. ii. 52 A war broke out between the Damaras and the Namaquas.
2. = Nama n. 2.
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the mind > language > languages of the world > African languages > Khoisan > [noun] > Nama
Hottentot1836
Namaqua1851
Hottentotese1873
Nama1883
1851 J. Anderson in G. M. Theal Yellow & Dark-Skinned People Afr. (1910) iii. 58 The signs of gender were almost identical in the Namaqua and the Egyptian.
1882 Jrnl. Royal Anthropol. Inst. 11 323 They [sc. the Berg Damaras] have been conquered and enslaved by tribes of Namaqua origin and now speak a dialect of Namaqua.
1917 Jrnl. Royal Anthropol. Inst. 47 43 The Bushmen are certainly nearer the Hottentots than the Negroes, and this will be abundantly clear when we come to discuss their language and its position with respect to Namaqua and Bantu.
1928 E. H. L. Schwarz Kalahari & its Native Races 185 In Kora, as in Namaqua, there is the singular, dual and plural, with some interesting modifications from normal Hottentot.
1996 B. F. Grimes Ethnologue (ed. 13) 323 Nama (Naman, Namakwa, Namaqua, Dama..) 90,000 in Namibia.
B. adj.
Of or relating to Namaqualand; of or relating to the Nama or their language.
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the world > people > ethnicities > peoples of Africa > peoples of Southern Africa > [adjective] > Khoekhoe > Khoekhoe peoples
Namaqua1790
Nama1862
Khoekhoe1910
1790 E. Helme tr. F. Le Vaillant Trav. Afr. II. xxi. 434 The Hottentots of the colonies call them perdrix Namaquais, (Namaquai partridges).
1806 J. Barrow Voy. Cochinchina 374 Their dwellings..are constructed on the same principle as those of the Namaqua Hottentots.
1838 J. E. Alexander Exped. Discov. Interior Afr. II. 72 Our captives belonged to a large tribe of red men, speaking the Namaqua language.
1889 F. Galton Trav. in S. Afr. 41 The agents in this history are Namaqua ‘Oerlams’, or Namaquas born in or near the colony.
1932 Times Lit. Suppl. 15 Sept. 642/2 There was a little trouble with some Namaqua guides who suddenly refused to go any further.
1993 A. Brink On Contrary ii. 258 Camphere and van Wyk had undertaken wide-ranging raids around the Namaqua settlement.
Compounds
Namaqua dove n. a small, long-tailed dove, Oena capensis, occurring in Africa south of Sudan.
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the world > animals > birds > perching birds > order Columbiformes (pigeons, etc.) > [noun] > family Columbidae > miscellaneous types of
nutmeg pigeon1783
blue pigeon1790
Namaqua dove1801
mountain witch1823
partridge pigeon1823
imperial pigeon1830
toy1831
porcelain1855
toothbill1862
fruit-pigeon1865
orange dove1875
tambourine pigeon1891
topknot pigeon1891
cinnamon dove1895
partridge1936
1795 C. R. Hopson tr. C. P. Thunberg Trav. (ed. 2) II. 34 A small dove..called Maquas Duyv (Colomba capensis) frequented the gardens, and there sought its food.]
1801 J. Barrow Acct. Trav. Interior S. Afr. 1797–8 I. iv. 325 Along the road were numbers of that beautiful little pigeon, called here the Namaaqua dove, not larger than a sparrow.
1905 J. du Plessis 1000 Miles in Heart Afr. 137 Little black-eyed Namaqua doves.
1972 Shooting Times & Country Mag. 27 May 24/2 Mourning, laughing and even tiny, wagtail-sized Namaque [sic] doves arrive to raid the crops.
1993 Weekend Post (Port Elizabeth) 9 Oct. (Leisure section) 7 Oena capensis, Namaqua dove... A small-bodied dove with a long, pointed, almost black tail and black face and throat, with white underparts and chestnut flight feathers.
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the world > animals > birds > perching birds > order Columbiformes (pigeons, etc.) > [noun] > family Pteroclidae (sand-grouse) > pterocles namaqua (Namaqua sandgrouse)
Namaqua partridge1790
Namaqua grouse1801
rock grouse1864
Namaqua sandgrouse1891
1801 J. Barrow Acct. Trav. Interior S. Afr. 1797–8 I. 264 Cape partridges and the Namaaqua [printed Hamaaqua] grous, were equally plentiful.
1867 E. L. Layard Birds S. Afr. 277 Namaqua Grouse... Namaqua Patrys of Colonists.
1887 A. A. Anderson Twenty-five Years in Waggon II. 20 Many kinds of beautiful birds, mocking-birds, swarms of the butcher-bird, namaqua-grouse.
Namaqua partridge n. = Namaqua sandgrouse n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > birds > perching birds > order Columbiformes (pigeons, etc.) > [noun] > family Pteroclidae (sand-grouse) > pterocles namaqua (Namaqua sandgrouse)
Namaqua partridge1790
Namaqua grouse1801
rock grouse1864
Namaqua sandgrouse1891
1790Namaquai partridges [see sense B.].
1890 A. Martin Home Life Ostrich Farm xi. 227 The beautiful little ‘Namaqua partridges’..are in reality a kind of grouse.
1972 L. G. Green When Journey's Over (1973) xii. 143 Casserole of guinea fowl, stewed korhaan and pigeon and Namaqua partridges were as familiar at Klipfontein as grouse in the Savoy Grill.
Namaqua rock mouse n. a rat-like rodent of southern Africa, Aethomys namaquensis (family Muridae), which frequents rocky outcrops.
ΚΠ
1951 A. Roberts Mammals S. Afr. 481 Aethomys namaquensis namaquensis (A. Smith). Namaqua Rock Mouse. Golden Rat.
1987 S. Afr. Jrnl. Sci. 83 159 Plague antibody was found in the blood of four rodent species including the Namaqua rock mouse.
1994 Afr. Environment & Wildlife Nov. 36/2 The flowers of a specialized subgroup of South African proteas, such as Protea humiflora, are pollinated by rodents, for example the Namaqua rock mouse.
Namaqua sandgrouse n. a small sandgrouse of southern Africa, Pterocles namaqua, having a pointed tail and dark underparts.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > birds > perching birds > order Columbiformes (pigeons, etc.) > [noun] > family Pteroclidae (sand-grouse) > pterocles namaqua (Namaqua sandgrouse)
Namaqua partridge1790
Namaqua grouse1801
rock grouse1864
Namaqua sandgrouse1891
1891 Longman's Mag. Sept. 519 The common Namaqua sandgrouse (Pterocles Namaqua), always called in South Africa the Namaqua partridge.
1962 C. W. Mackworth-Praed & C. H. B. Grant Birds S. Third Afr. 372 Namaqua Sandgrouse... Birds of the desert fringe. A common Sandgrouse of the drier parts of South Africa especially the western side.
1994 S. Afr. Jrnl. Wildlife Res. 23 107 There is an embryonic commercial hunting industry based on Namaqua sandgrouse Pterocles namaqua in the northern Cape Province.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.adj.1670