Hypertext Webster Gateway: "kafir"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Kaffir \Kaf"fir\, Kafir \Ka"fir\, n. [Ar. k?fir infidel, pagan,
fr. kafara to be skeptical in religious matters; -- a name
given to certain infidel races by the Mohammedans. Cf.
{Giaour}.] (Ethnol.)
(a) One of a race which, with the Hottentots and Bushmen,
inhabit South Africa. They inhabit the country north of
Cape Colony, the name being now specifically applied to
the tribes living between Cape Colony and Natal; but the
Zulus of Natal are true Kaffirs.
(b) One of a race inhabiting Kafiristan in Central Asia.
[Spelt also {Caffre}.]
{Kaffir corn} (Bot.), a Cape Colony name for Indian millet.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
kafir
n 1: (South Africa) an offensive term for any Black African [syn:
{kaffir}, {caffer}, {caffre}]
2: a member of the Kafir people in northeastern Afghanistan
[syn: {Kafir}]
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