tronk
English
Etymology
Borrowed from Afrikaans tronk, from Dutch tronk, from Portuguese tronco, from Latin truncus. Doublet of trunk.
Noun
tronk (plural tronks)
- (South Africa) A prison.
- 1824, William John Burchell, Travels in the Interior of Southern Africa
- It must here be explained that the tronk, or jail, is the general receptacle, not only of convicted criminals, but of such Hottentots or slaves as are found, improperly or illegally wandering about the country […]
- 1958, Isobel Rae, The strange story of Dr James Barry
- The diary of another settler, who had been wrongfully imprisoned in the Tronk, and described the daily life there in no uncertain terms […]
- 1985, Lawrence George Green, Maureen Barnes, The best of Lawrence Green
- It was built, as far as I can discover, because the Cape Argus rightly denounced the overcrowding of the old "tronk" on the waterfront.
- 1824, William John Burchell, Travels in the Interior of Southern Africa
Afrikaans
Dutch
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /trɔŋk/
- Hyphenation: tronk
- Rhymes: -ɔŋk
Etymology 1
From Middle Dutch tronc (“trunk”), from Old French tronc (“trunk”), from Latin truncus (“trunk”).
Noun
tronk m (plural tronken, diminutive tronkje n)
- (now dialectal) trunk, tree trunk
- (now dialectal) tree stump
- Synonyms: boomstronk, stronk
Etymology 2
Borrowed from Portuguese tronco (“block, prison, trunk”), from Latin truncus (“trunk”).
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