amapakati

English

Etymology

From Xhosa ama- (plural noun class marker) + -phakathi (“council”); compare pagati. Attested in English from the 19th century.

Noun

amapakati (plural amapakatis)

1. The council or inner circle of advisers of a chief in a Nguni society.
   • 1962, Nelson Mandela, Struggle is my Life:

     Then our people lived peacefully, under the democratic rule of their kings and their amapakati, and moved freely and confidently up and down the country without let or hindrance.

2. A member of a council; a trusted adviser.
   • 1870, C. Hamilton, Life and Sport in South-East Africa:

     The shrewdness of the Amapakati, or Kaffir advocate.

See also

• pagati

References

• “amapakati, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, March 2005.