apartheid
UK[əˈpɑːtheɪt]US[əˈpɑːrtaɪt]
n
a political system in which people of different races are separated and one race is kept in a position of power over the others, especially the system that existed in south africa in the past.
Etymology
the term 'apartheid' entered english directly from afrikaans in the mid-20th century. in afrikaans, it is a compound formed from 'apart', meaning 'separate' or 'apart', and the suffix '-heid', which is cognate with the english noun-forming suffix '-hood', denoting a state or condition. the afrikaans 'apart' itself derives from dutch, which in turn inherited it from middle dutch, ultimately tracing back to the latin phrase 'a parte', meaning 'to the side' or 'separately'. thus, the literal meaning 'state of apartness' or 'separateness' evolved from a descriptive phrase in latin, through dutch and afrikaans, into the specific, institutionalized modern abstract meaning of a legally enforced system of racial segregation and discrimination.
Analysis
the word is a loanword from afrikaans, adopted as a single lexical unit into english. it is not productively segmented using english morphemes.
Examples
nelson mandela fought tirelessly to end the system of apartheid in south africa.
the apartheid regime enforced strict laws that dictated where people could live based on their race.
many countries imposed economic sanctions on south africa to pressure the government to dismantle apartheid.