apartheid

Where does the word "apartheid" come from? It comes from Afrikaans/Dutch apart, passing through Afrikaans before entering English (1900s).

Apartheid’s story begins in Afrikaans/Dutch: apart meant “separate.” By 1900s, the word had taken hold in Afrikaans as apartheid. Literally "separateness", the name of South Africa's system of racial segregation. It reached English by 1900s as apartheid. First recorded in English in 1947 in Johannesburg's Rand Daily Mail; the policy was made law after the National Party's 1948 election victory. Today, apartheid means a system of institutionalized racial segregation, historically that of South Africa.

1. Stage 1 · Afrikaans/Dutch · medieval apart "separate", meaning "separate".
2. Stage 2 · Afrikaans · 1900s apartheid "state-enforced racial segregation", literally "separateness", the name of South Africa's system of racial segregation.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1900s apartheid "a system of institutionalized racial segregation", first recorded in English in 1947 in Johannesburg's Rand Daily Mail; the policy was made law after the National Party's 1948 election victory.