different between offensive vs kaffir
offensive
English
Alternative forms
- offencive (obsolete)
Etymology
From Middle French offensif, from Medieval Latin offensivus, from Latin offendere (“to offend”), past participle offensus; see offend.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /??f?ns?v/
- (sports): (US) IPA(key): /???f?ns?v/
Adjective
offensive (comparative more offensive, superlative most offensive)
- Causing offense; arousing a visceral reaction of disgust, anger, or hatred.
- Antonym: inoffensive
- Relating to an offense or attack, as opposed to defensive.
- Antonym: defensive
- (sports) Having to do with play directed at scoring.
Usage notes
- When the second syllable is emphasized, "offensive" is defined as "insulting". When the first syllable is emphasized, it refers to the attacker in a conflict or a sport.
- Nouns to which "offensive" is often applied: content, material, language, word, comment, remark, statement, speech, joke, humor, image, picture, art, behavior, conduct, act, action.
Synonyms
- aggressive
- invidious (Intending to cause envious offense)
Derived terms
Related terms
- offend
- offense
Translations
Noun
offensive (countable and uncountable, plural offensives)
- (countable, military) An attack.
- (uncountable) The posture of attacking or being able to attack.
Derived terms
Translations
Further reading
- offensive in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
- offensive in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
Danish
Adjective
offensive
- plural and definite singular attributive of offensiv
French
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /?.f??.siv/
- Homophone: offensives
Etymology 1
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Noun
offensive f (plural offensives)
- (military) offensive (an attack)
Descendants
- ? German: Offensive
Etymology 2
See the etymology of the main entry.
Adjective
offensive
- feminine singular of offensif
Further reading
- “offensive” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).
German
Pronunciation
Adjective
offensive
- inflection of offensiv:
- strong/mixed nominative/accusative feminine singular
- strong nominative/accusative plural
- weak nominative all-gender singular
- weak accusative feminine/neuter singular
Italian
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /of.fen?si.ve/
- Hyphenation: of?fen?sì?ve
- Rhymes: -ive
Adjective
offensive
- feminine plural of offensivo
Noun
offensive f
- plural of offensiva
Norwegian Bokmål
Adjective
offensive
- definite singular/plural of offensiv
Norwegian Nynorsk
Adjective
offensive
- definite singular/plural of offensiv
offensive From the web:
- what offensive mean
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- what offensive images are in mulberry street
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kaffir
English
Alternative forms
- Caffer, caffre, kaffer, Kaffir, Kaffre, kafir, kaphar, kaphir, kafari
Etymology
Ultimately from Arabic ???????? (kaff?r, “infidel”) or ??????? (k?fir, “unbeliever”), both from ??????? (kafara, “to cover, to hide”); in some (especially early) uses, via Spanish cafre, Dutch kaffer or other European languages.
Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA(key): /?kæf?/
Noun
kaffir (countable and uncountable, plural kaffirs)
- (countable, offensive) In Islamic contexts, a non-Muslim. [from 16th c.]
- 1804, Archibald Duncan, The Mariner's Chronicle, I:
- He […] put me in imminent danger of my life, by telling the natives that I was a Caffer, and not a Mussulman.
- 1804, Archibald Duncan, The Mariner's Chronicle, I:
- (countable, offensive) A member of the Nguni people of southern Africa, especially a Xhosa. [from 16th c.]
- 1792, The Analytical Review, Or History of Literature, Domestic and Foreign, on an Enlarged Plan, Volume 14:
- … the Hambonaas, a nation quite different from the Kaffers, having a yellowish complexion […].
- 1792, The Analytical Review, Or History of Literature, Domestic and Foreign, on an Enlarged Plan, Volume 14:
- (countable, South Africa, Rhodesia, ethnic slur, offensive, derogatory) A black person. [from 17th c.]
- 1959, Alf Ross, On Law and Justice:
- If you ask a Kaffir why he does so-and-so, he will answer—"How can I tell? It has always been done by our forefathers."
- 1971, Naboth Mokgatle, The Autobiography of an Unknown South African:
- I once heard him say to the gardener, 'Come along, son.' His wife scolded him saying, 'He's not son, don't call him son, he's a kaffir.'
- 1998, Antjie Krog, Country of My Skull:
- "… and today here a white man is calling me a kaffir. This term that I absolutely resented." And that, says Nofomela, is his political motive.
- 1959, Alf Ross, On Law and Justice:
- (uncountable, now historical, offensive) A language spoken by the Nguni peoples of southern Africa, especially Xhosa. [from 19th c.]
- 1952, Doris Lessing, Martha Quest, Panther 1974, p. 73:
- This man, seeing a white person enter, moved aside for her, but she saw Joss's eyes on her, and said in kitchen kaffir, ‘No, when you've finished.’
- 1952, Doris Lessing, Martha Quest, Panther 1974, p. 73:
- (finance, slang, historical) South African mining shares [from early 20th c.]
- 1907 Truth, Vol 62, pg 688
- Kaffirs bouyant most of last week
- 1907 Truth, Vol 62, pg 688
Usage notes
This word was widely used in the nineteenth and early twentieth century. Since the mid-twentieth century it has been regarded as derogatory.
Derived terms
Translations
See also
- kafir
- Kaffir (ethnic slur) in Wikipedia
kaffir From the web:
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- what does kaffir meaning in hindi
- what are kaffir lime leaves used for
- what are kaffir lime leaves substitute
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- what is kaffir lime leaves called in hindi
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