What does "kraal" mean?

In Central and Southern Africa, a small rural community.

What is a synonym for "kraal"?

Common synonyms include: block, close, corral, corral, corral, croft.

//kɹɑːl// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Noun

1
In Central and Southern Africa, a small rural community.
"Onanis is the permanent residence of a kraal of very poor Hill-Damaras, who subsist chiefly upon the few wild roots which their sterile neighborhood produces."
2
a pen for livestock in southern Africa wordnet
3
In Central and Southern Africa, a rural village of huts surrounded by a stockade.
"A kraal was a homestead and usually included a simple fenced-in enclosure for animals, fields for growing crops, and one or more thatched huts."
4
a village of huts for native Africans in southern Africa; usually surrounded by a stockade wordnet
5
An enclosure for livestock.
"The animal, which is now six years old, was born naturally from the mating of a female goat with a male sheep sharing the same kraal."

Verb

1
To enclose (livestock) within a kraal or stockade. transitive
"[…] he knew that one of these beasts was in the habit of harassing the goat-kids, which, for better security, he had kraaled against the wall of the house."

"Inside this circular kraal was a low hut."

From colonial Dutch kraal, from Portuguese curral. Doublet of corral.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.