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apartheid

 - 4 dictionary results

a⋅part⋅heid

  [uh-pahrt-heyt, -hahyt]
Use apartheid in a Sentence
–noun
1. (in the Republic of South Africa) a rigid policy of segregation of the nonwhite population.
2. any system or practice that separates people according to race, caste, etc.
Origin:
1945–50; < Afrik, equiv. to apart apart + -heid -hood
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To apartheid
a·part·heid   (ə-pärt'hīt', -hāt')   
n.  

  1. An official policy of racial segregation formerly practiced in the Republic of South Africa, involving political, legal, and economic discrimination against nonwhites.

  2. A policy or practice of separating or segregating groups.

  3. The condition of being separated from others; segregation.


[Afrikaans : Dutch apart, separate (from French à part, apart; see apart) + Dutch -heid, -hood.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Cultural Dictionary

apartheid [(uh-pahr-teyet, uh-pahr-tayt)]

The racist policy (see racism) of South Africa that long denied blacks and other nonwhites civic, social, and economic equality with whites. It was dismantled during the 1990s. (See Nelson Mandela.)

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

apartheid 
1947 (policy begun 1948), from Afrikaans apartheid (1929 in a S.African socio-political context), lit. "separateness," from Du. apart "separate" (from Fr. àpart; see apart) + suffix -heid, cognate of Eng. -hood. The official Eng. synonym was separate development (1955).
" 'Segregation' is such an active word that it suggests someone is trying to segregate someone else. So the word 'apartheid' was introduced. Now it has such a stench in the nostrils of the world, they are referring to 'autogenous development.' " [Alan Paton, "New York Times," Oct. 24, 1960]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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