kraal

or craal

[ krahl ]

noun

1. an enclosure for cattle and other domestic animals in southern Africa.
2. a village of the Native peoples of South Africa, usually surrounded by a stockade or the like and often having a central space for livestock.
3. such a village as a social unit.
4. an enclosure where wild animals are exhibited, as in a zoo.

verb (used with object)

1. to shut up in an enclosure or pen, as cattle.

kraal

/ krɑːl /

noun

1. a hut village in southern Africa, esp one surrounded by a stockade
2. an enclosure for livestock

adjective

1. denoting or relating to the tribal aspects of the Black African way of life

verb

1. tr to enclose (livestock) in a kraal

Word History and Origins

Origin of kraal¹

First recorded in 1725–35; from Afrikaans, from Portuguese curral “pen”; corral

Word History and Origins

Origin of kraal¹

C18: from Afrikaans, from Portuguese curral pen; see corral

Example Sentences

Densely packed dung from Iron Age kraals created layers of soil that large trees and shrubs struggle to grow in, even thousands of years later.

From Science Magazine

As the sun was coming up, I brought the cows into the kraal, one by one, eight of them.

From Literature

I ran down to the kraals as fast as my legs could carry me.

From Literature

“You go straight from the cattle kraal into the house, where babies crawl around on the floor.”

From The Guardian

One of my brothers removed the barrier made of thick, cleverly intertwined branches that blocked the entrance to the big kraal, while the others, at my father’s orders, corralled and channelled the impatient cattle.

From The New Yorker