vel-broeks, plural noun

Forms:
Also veldt-broeks.
Origin:
Afrikaans, EnglishShow more From Afrikaans velbroek (vel skin + broek trousers) + English plural -s; see also quotation 1913.
obs.
Leather or skin trousers. Cf. crackers.
[1846 Natal Witness 4 Dec. 2Last seen with vel trousers, striped shirt, velveteen jacket, veld shoes, and Manilla hat on.]
1889 H.A. Bryden Kloof & Karroo 287Many a good hunting story could the old man tell, and amongst them was one in which the veld-broeks played an important part.
1913 C. Pettman Africanderisms 530Vel-broeks,..Leather or skin trousers were much worn in the earlier days of the Colony, and were known among the settlers of 1820 and their descendants as ‘Crackers’. The spelling ‘veldt-broeks’ in the quotation suggests a mistaken etymology.
1917 S.T. Plaatje Native Life 109Hides and skins were..collected from the tribesmen, and their tanners were set to work to assist in making veldschoens (shoes), and velbroeks (skin trousers), and karosses (sheepskin rugs) for the tattered and footsore Boers and their children.
Leather or skin trousers.
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18461917

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veggeneraal, nounn.veld, nounn.
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