passbook

[ pas-book, pahs- ]

noun

1. a bankbook.
2. (formerly) a small book or ledger for each customer in which a merchant keeps a record of goods sold on credit and the amounts owed and paid.
3. South African. reference book ( def 2 ).

passbook

/ ˈpɑːsˌbʊk /

noun

1. a book for keeping a record of withdrawals from and payments into a building society
2. another name for bankbook
3. a customer's book in which is recorded by a trader a list of credit sales to that customer
4. (formerly in South Africa) an official document serving to identify the bearer, his race, his residence, and his employment

Word History and Origins

Origin of passbook¹

First recorded in 1820–30; pass + book

Example Sentences

South Africans used to go to collect a passbook, or a "dompas", that controlled where they could travel.

From BBC

The gutted building is linked to apartheid-era South Africa, as it was where Black South Africans collected their "dompas" or passbook - documents that would enable them to work in white-owned areas of the city.

From Reuters

Ramaphosa said he collected his passbook at the building about 50 years ago, when he worked in the city.

From Reuters

Born in Eersterust, near Pretoria, Cole was a 20-year-old newspaper photographer in Johannesburg in 1960 when 69 Africans died in Sharpeville protesting the passbook laws that restricted their movements through their country.

From New York Times

Mr Stinson says one reason behind this stagnation may be that most local customers are happy with how things are already run, even if it means sometimes standing in line with a passbook.

From BBC