rietbok, noun

/ˈritbɔk/
Forms:
reetbok, reitbocShow more Also reetbok, reitboc, reitbok, rietbock, ritbock.
Plurals:
unchanged, or rietboks.
Origin:
South African DutchShow more South African Dutch, riet reed + bok antelope, goat; see quotation 1827.
The small antelope Redunca arundinum, having a bushy tail, fur of a colour from brown or buffy-grey to buffy-yellow, and (in the male) V-shaped, forward-curving, ridged horns; reedbuck sense 1, rietbuck. Also attributive.
Note:
In Skinner & Smithers’s Mammals of Sn Afr. Subregion (1990), the name ‘reedbuck’ is used for this species.
[1786 G. Forster tr. of A. Sparrman’s Voy. to Cape of G.H. II. 222The riet, (or reed) ree-bok, I saw but once.]
1796 C.R. Hopson tr. of C.P. Thunberg’s Trav. II. 44Rietboks (Capra) and Bonteboks (Capra scripta) frequented much these hilly and verdant fields.
1801 G. Shaw General Zoology II. 348The female Ritbock resembles the male in colour, but has no horns.
1827 G. Thompson Trav. 201On the banks of this stream I observed a species of antelope,..I believe, the same animal termed Riet-bok by the colonists, from its inhabiting the spots along the rivers overgrown with reeds and sedge.
1835 A. Smith Diary (1940) II. 47The core of the riet bok horns is slightly porous longitudinally, some fine holes, some larger, the finest towards centre where they are very numerous.
1843 J.C. Chase Cape of G.H. 51The rietbok..and several others of the antelope tribe are often met with, though they are by no means numerous.
1860 A.W. Drayson Sporting Scenes 49From his back I shot elands, hartebeest, reitbok, ourebis, steinbok, duikers, etc.
1877 R.M. Ballantyne Settler & Savage 154From their lairs among the reeds and sedges of the river rushed the reitbok and wild hog.
1949 C. Bullock Rina 63The riet-bok meat had..been well cooked, and the Chief and I ceremoniously ate together, cementing a bond of friendship.
1951 A. Roberts Mammals 29Rietbok...This species is found either solitary or in family parties...When alarmed they run off with..‘a rocking-horse motion,’ and in doing so flash their white tails as a warning, often at the same time uttering their whistling note.
1979 J. Gratus Jo’burgers 45He did not see the fields of ripened mealies nor the ponderous cattle nor even the timid rietbok that had strayed too far from its herd by one of the streams.
1989 L. Badenhorst in Motorist May 4Within yards of our campsite a rietbok grazed on the bank of the river.
1994 M. Roberts tr. of J.A. Wahlberg’s Trav. Jrnls 1838–56 31On the other side of the Umvoti saw 4 lion hunting a Rietbock.
The small antelope Redunca arundinum, having a bushy tail, fur of a colour from brown or buffy-grey to buffy-yellow, and (in the male) V-shaped, forward-curving, ridged horns; reedbuck sense 1, rietbuck. Also attributive.
Entry Navigation

Visualise Quotations

Quotation summary

Senses

17861994

Browse Related Words

By Category

Mammals
Riesling, nounn.rietbuck, nounn.
Copyright © 2025 Dictionary Unit for South African English