1880 J. Nixon Among Boers ix. 211 He takes stock of all the marriageable lasses in the neighbourhood, and when he has found one to his liking he pays a state visit to the house of the fair creature's parents, and undergoes what is called an ‘opzit’.

1928 N. Stevenson Afr. Harvest 177 If she isn't keen on Koos it doesn't really matter... They can begin the opsit at once, and marry soon after.

1965 K. Mackenzie Deserter 33 The first opsit had been a slow, shy-making affair in which they had punctuated long silences with little bits of polite conversation.

1990 New Contrast Winter 70 These flesh and blood people banging their heads against their flawed heritage shine out like opsit candles.

1880 J. Nixon Among Boers ix. 214 I have often been curious to know how the young ‘vrijer’, or lover, manages to make known to the fair one his wish to ‘opzit’, or sit up, for the purpose of courting.

1899 H. R. Haggard Swallow i. 6 After we had ‘opsitted’ together several times according to our customs, and burnt many very long candles, we were married.

1939 S. Cloete Watch for Dawn 377 Why, if you wanted to court her, could you not opsit like a Burger in the sit-Kamer [sc. sitting room] with a candle between you?

1955 W. Robertson Blue Wagon xix. 181 ‘In my young days I had to opsit for weeks.’ He referred to the Boer custom of two young people sitting up by the light of a candle after the elders had gone to bed.