Baasskap
/ˈbɑːs.skɑːp/noun
A South African political doctrine advocating white domination over Black South Africans and other racial groups.
Did you know?Baasskap was used in South African political language before and alongside apartheid to describe the principle of permanent white supremacy, especially in Afrikaner nationalist politics.
Etymological Timeline
17th Century
Dutch
baas
“Master, employer, or person in authority; the source of Afrikaans baas.”
Old and Middle Germanic
Germanic
-skap / -ship
“A suffix forming nouns for condition, status, office, or collective relationship.”
18th–19th Century
Afrikaans
baas + -skap
“Literally, “boss-ship” or the condition of being the baas.”
Early 20th Century
Afrikaans
baasskap
“A political term for white supremacy and the maintenance of white control in South Africa.”
20th Century
South African English
baasskap
“An English loanword referring to the ideology of white domination, particularly in contrast with more reformist or “limited” segregation policies.”
Modern English
English
baasskap
“A historical and political term for the doctrine of white supremacy in South Africa.”
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