braai

English

WOTD – 2 July 2008

Etymology

From braaivleis (“grilled meat”), from Afrikaans braai (“to grill”), from Dutch braden (“roast”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bɹaɪ/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɪ
• Hyphenation: braai

Noun

braai (plural braais)

1. (South Africa) A barbecue (grill), especially an open outdoor grill built specifically for the purpose of braaing.
2. (chiefly South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe) A social meeting, including the braaing of meat; a cookout.

   Come over to our place for a braai.

Verb

braai (third-person singular simple present braais, present participle braaing or braaiing, simple past and past participle braaied)

1. (chiefly South Africa) To grill meat over an open flame (not on a gass grill).
   • 2015 June 1, Pamela Power, Ms Conception, Penguin Random House South Africa, →ISBN:

     […] so we decide to braai some ribs for supper.

   • 2018, Tsitsi Dangarembga, This Mournable Body, Faber & Faber (2020), page 89:

     You sniff the air. Smoke. Spices. One of the residents on the road has been, or perhaps is still, braaing.

Coordinate terms

• barbecue
• barbeque
• barbie
• BBQ

 

Derived terms

• braaivleis
• bring-and-braai
• minibraai
• spitbraai

 

Anagrams

• Ibara, Rabia, baria

Afrikaans

Etymology

From Dutch braden, from Middle Dutch brâden, from Old Dutch brādan, from Proto-Germanic *brēdaną.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /brɑːi/

• Audio

  (file)

Verb

braai (present braai, present participle braaiende, past participle gebraai)

1. (cooking) to grill meat over an open flame

   Ek mag nie vleis in my tuin braai nie.

   I am not allowed to fry meat in my garden.

Noun

braai (plural braaie)

1. a barbecue
2. an open outdoor grill built specifically for the purpose of braaing
3. a social meeting, including the braaing of meat

   Nou gaan ons braai!

   Now we braai!

Descendants

• → Dutch: braai

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /braːi/

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: braai
• Rhymes: -aːi

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Afrikaans braai (“barbecue”), from Dutch braden.

Noun

braai m (plural braaien, diminutive braaitje n)

1. a barbecue
2. an open outdoor grill built specifically for the purpose of braaing
3. a social meeting, including the braaing of meat

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

braai

1. first-person singular present indicative of braaien
2. imperative of braaien