kopje
English
Alternative forms
- koppie
Etymology
From (South African) Dutch kopje, diminutive of kop (“head”).
Noun
kopje (plural kopjes)
- (South Africa) A small hill or mound (especially on the African veld).
- 1883 June, Ralph Iron [pseudonym; Olive Schreiner], “Shadows from Child-life. The Watch.”, in The Story of an African Farm, 2nd edition, New York, N.Y.: H. M. Caldwell Company, OCLC 5141001, part I, page 9:
- In one spot only was the solemn monotony of the plain broken. Near the center a small solitary “kopje” rose. Alone it lay there, a heap of round ironstones piled one upon the other, as over some giant’s grave.
- 1900 December – 1901 August, H[erbert] G[eorge] Wells, “Prospecting Begins”, in The First Men in the Moon, London: George Newnes, […], published 1901, OCLC 843386372, page 105:
- We selected a lichenous kopje perhaps fifteen yards away, and landed neatly on its summit one after the other.
- 1952, Doris Lessing, Martha Quest, Panther 1974, p. 8:
- Martha looked over a mile or so of bush to a strip of pink ploughed land; […] and then, ridge after ridge, fold after fold, the bush stretched to a line of blue kopjes.
- 1978, André Brink, Rumours of Rain, Vintage 2000, p. 72:
- On the koppie behind the village, the unsightly red-and-white skeleton of an FM tower.
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References
- Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary: Tenth Edition (1997)
Afrikaans
Pronunciation
Audio (file)
Noun
kopje (plural kopjes)
- (archaic) Alternative form of koppie
Dutch
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈkɔp.jə/
Audio (file)
Noun
kopje n (plural kopjes)
- Diminutive of kop
Lower Sorbian
Alternative forms
- koṕe (obsolete)
Etymology
From Proto-Slavic *kopьje. Cognate with Upper Sorbian kopjo.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈkɔpʲɛ/, [ˈkɔpʲə]
Noun
kopje n (diminutive kopjecko)
- spear, javelin, lance, pike
Inflection
Declension of kopje
Singular | Dual | Plural | |
---|---|---|---|
Nominative | kopje | kopi | kopja |
Genitive | kopja | kopjowu | kopjow |
Dative | kopjeju, kopju | kopjoma | kopjam |
Accusative | kopje | kopi | kopja |
Instrumental | kopim | kopjoma | kopjami |
Locative | kopju | kopjoma | kopjach |
Further reading
- Muka, Arnošt (1921, 1928), “koṕe”, in Słownik dolnoserbskeje rěcy a jeje narěcow (in German), St. Petersburg, Prague: ОРЯС РАН, ČAVU; Reprinted Bautzen: Domowina-Verlag, 2008
- Starosta, Manfred (1999), “kopje”, in Dolnoserbsko-nimski słownik / Niedersorbisch-deutsches Wörterbuch (in German), Bautzen: Domowina-Verlag
Slovene
Etymology
From Proto-Slavic *kopьje.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /kòːpjɛ/
Noun
kọ́pje n
- javelin
Inflection
Neuter, soft | |||
---|---|---|---|
nom. sing. | kópje | ||
gen. sing. | kópja | ||
singular | dual | plural | |
nominative | kópje | kópji | kópja |
accusative | kópje | kópji | kópja |
genitive | kópja | kópij | kópij |
dative | kópju | kópjema | kópjem |
locative | kópju | kópjih | kópjih |
instrumental | kópjem | kópjema | kópji |
Further reading
- “kopje”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU, portal Fran