katdoring, noun

/ˈkatdʊərəŋ//ˈkatduərəŋ/
Forms:
Also katdoorn, katdorn.
Origin:
Afrikaans, South African DutchShow more Afrikaans (earlier South African Dutch katdoorn), kat cat + doring thorn, alluding to the shape of the thorns.
Any of several species of plants with hooked thorns.
1. The cat-thorn (sense 2 a), Scutia myrtina.
1868 L. Pappe Florae Capensis 12Scutia Commersoni,..(Katdoorn)...Habit of growth usually shrubby, branches armed with hooked thorns.
1972 [see cat-thorn sense 2 a].
2. The cat-thorn (sense 3), Acacia caffra; the wood of this tree.
1868 J. Chapman Trav. I. 24The forest generally consists of various kinds of mimosas, acacia, and other thorny trees, such as the ‘wagt-een-beetje’ (wait-a-bit),..‘kat-doorn,’ &c.
1968 F.C. Metrowich Frontier Flames 240She was buried in the bush on the farm and a stake of Katdoring was planted to mark her resting place. This took root and for many years it was the only sign to distinguish the place where she lay.
1973 Evening Post 27 Jan. 2A peg of katdoring had been driven into the ground at the time of the burial to mark the spot as was the custom of the Xhosas. The peg had grown into a large tree at the head of the grave of the famous prophetess.
1983 T. Baron in Frontline June 29The Umfolosi has more than its fair share of the various species that abound — they have the..wag-’n-bietjie,..katdoring,..just to name a few.
3. cat-thorn sense 1.
1913 C. Pettman Africanderisms 254Kat doorn,..Asparagus retrofractus. The Wild asparagus is so called because its thorns are hooked like the claws of a cat.
Any of several species of plants with hooked thorns.
The cat-thorn (sense 2 a), Scutia myrtina.
The cat-thorn (sense 3), Acacia caffra; the wood of this tree.
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Afrikaans
kat, nounn.katel, nounn.
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