oranje-blanje-blou, noun

/ɔˌranjə blanjə ˈbləʊ/
Forms:
orange-blanje-blou, oranje-blanje-blaauwShow more Also orange-blanje-blou, oranje-blanje-blaauw, oranje, blanje blou, and with initial capitals.
Origin:
AfrikaansShow more Afrikaans, ‘the orange, white and blue’ (blanje being a poetic word for ‘white’).
The (colours of the) former national flag; the title of a patriotic Afrikaans song; figurative, a symbol of nationalism. Also attributive.
1985 [see volkslied sense 1].
1987 Sunday Times 25 Jan. 2It all made one wonder whatever happened to Die Stem and good old ‘oranje, blanje blou’?
1989 Frontline Apr. 32In the young Reiger Park, parties like the Coloured National Party and the Federale Kleurling Volksparty fought coloured elections on coloured tickets under Oranje Blanje Blou banners.
1989 Personality 10 Apr. 40He did not leave in a blaze of patriotic glory, carrying the oranje-blanje-blou to the peaks of distant music charts. His mission was simply to fulfil his own goals and his own dreams.
1989 L. Stuart in ADA No.7, 59Trevor Woodside’s T-Shirt..contains most essential elements for Suid-Afrikanerism: the eternal tannie, proteas and windmills and a dung-beetle in ‘oranje, blanje blou’.
1989 Personality 11 Sept. 71Without waving the Oranje-Blanje-Blaauw, South African nicknames are possibly the most amusing.
1993 I. Powell in Weekly Mail & Guardian 29 Oct. 9One of the suggestions submitted to the commission for an interim symbol was to simply string up a square of clear plastic, so everyone could see what he or she wanted...Or maybe, against all aesthetic judgment, stick with the old orange-blanje-blou. At least you can hate it.
The (colours of the) former national flag; the title of a patriotic Afrikaans song; figurative, a symbol of nationalism. Also attributive.
Entry Navigation

Visualise Quotations

Quotation summary

Senses

19871993
Orange Leaves, noun phrasen. phr.Order of Ethiopia, noun phrasen. phr.
Copyright © 2025 Dictionary Unit for South African English