rooibekkie, noun

/ˈrɔɪbeki//ˈrʊɪbeki/
Forms:
roodbeckje, roode-bekjeShow more Also roodbeckje, roode-bekje, rooibeckie, rooibekje.
Origin:
Afrikaans, South African DutchShow more Afrikaans, earlier South African Dutch roodebekje, roode red + bekje little beak.
1. Either of two birds with red beaks, the common waxbill Estrilda astrild of the Estrildidae, or the pin-tailed whydah Vidua macroura of the Viduidae; also called red beak (see red adjective sense 1), rooibek (also occasionally with defining word, king rooibekkie or koning/ˈkʊənəŋ/ rooibekkie [Afrikaans koning king]).
1795 C.R. Hopson tr. of C.P. Thunberg’s Trav. I. 312The Loxia Astrild, on account of its red beak, was called Rood-beckje, or Red-beak, and was found in great numbers in the farmers gardens.
[1824 W.J. Burchell Trav. II. 41A number of very small finches, (Loxia astrild) frequented the bushes at this place...This little bird is not peculiar to Southern Africa; it is very common at St. Helena...It is known to the Dutch colonists by the appellation of Roode-bekje (Red-beak).]
1861 Lady Duff-Gordon Lett. from Cape (1925) 60I will try to bring home some cages of birds — Cape canaries and ‘roode bekjes’ (red bills), darling little things.
1868 J. Chapman Trav. II. 17We shot and skinned some birds, among which was a long-tailed finch (king rooi bekkie).
1910 D. Fairbridge That Which Hath Been (1913) 307Nautilus shells, sun-dried peaches and apricots, ostrich eggs, watermelons, rooibekjes in little cages.
1923 Haagner & Ivy Sketches of S. Afr. Bird-Life 123The sprightly little Pin-tailed Whydah (Vidua serena) is also a well-known figure in its pied plumage of black and white, long narrow tail, and pink bill. It is known to the boys as the Koning Rooibekje (King Red-bill).
1928 E.H.L. Schwarz Kalahari & its Native Races 114The whole area was now one vast field of maize, long since harvested, but the rooi beckies — a tiny fawn bird with a red beak — stayed on, waiting for the next sowing.
1955 V. De Kock Fun They Had 31We read of an occasion, when an old sportsman had caught a number of rooibekkies.
1967 S.M.A. Lowe Hungry Veld 90Tiny rooibekkies with speckled grey feathers and bright red beaks were eating grass seeds.
[1970 A. Fulton I Swear to Apollo 19‘In Tshiyane’,..the name given to the little grey bird with the red bill that the Afrikaners called rooibekkie.]
1975 G.J. Broekhuysen in Std Encycl. of Sn Afr. XI. 371Among common species in Southern Africa are the swee waxbill..and the common waxbill or rooi-bekkie (Estrilda astrild).
2. obsolescent. A variety of bean.
1930 Farming in S. Afr. Oct. 346 (Swart)Half coloured beans, e.g. ‘Lappies and Rooi Bekkie’ are being cultivated. These vary in shape, though they are mostly roundish.
1934 C.P. Swart Supplement to Pettman. 146Rooibekkie,..A variety of dry bean, so called because it has a red discoloration.
Either of two birds with red beaks, the common waxbill Estrilda astrild of the Estrildidae, or the pin-tailed whydah Vidua macroura of the Viduidae; also called red beak (see red adjective sense 1), rooibek (also occasionally with defining word, king rooibekkie or koning/ˈkʊənəŋ/ rooibekkie [Afrikaans koning king]).
A variety of bean.
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rooibek, nounn.rooiblom, nounn.
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