Survey of English Place-Names

Etymology

, 1925 Kelly , ( still current 2010 ) ; a hostelry name prob . dating from the period of the Boer War , it is a surprising survival in these days of sensitivity concerning racial and ethnic slurs , since nowadays kaffir is an offensive term for a black person , after its use from the 16th cent. in English and Dutch ( and later in Afrikaans ) as a general term for various peoples of southern Africa . Originally from Arabic kafir ' unbeliever, infidel ' , it is still used with this meaning in the Muslim world .