South African English, from Afrikaans, for a watermelon. The word comes from a Khoikhoi or Tswana source word, absorbed into Afrikaans and then into South African English. Watermelons are widely grown and eaten across southern Africa and the term is part of the distinctive South African English vocabulary that blends Afrikaans, Khoisan, Nguni, and European linguistic elements.
They cracked open a cold makataan at the side of the field and ate it with salt.
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(South African English) watermelon.
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Regional slang from around the English-speaking world — British, Australian, Irish, Caribbean, Nigerian, Filipino, AAVE, and the hyphenated-English dialects that make the internet sound local.
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