necklace

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English

A necklace consisting of a chain with a pendant

Etymology

From neck +‎ lace.

Pronunciation

Noun

necklace (plural necklaces)

  1. (jewelry) An article of jewelry that is worn around the neck, most often made of a string of precious metal, pearls, gems, beads or shells, and sometimes having a pendant attached.
  2. (figuratively) Anything resembling a necklace in shape.
    a necklace of coral islands
  3. (South Africa) A device used in necklacing (an informal execution); a rubber tyre that is filled with petrol. It is placed around the victim's chest and arms, and set on fire.
    • Necklacing on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
    • 4 August, 2004, “Necklacing: 7 held”, in Headline Pretoria News:
      Seven people have been arrested in connection with Saturday's "necklace" murder of three men in the Tjokville informal settlement at Jeffrey's Bay.
    • 2000 Beyond Our Wildest Dreams: The United Democratic Front and the Transformation of South Africa by Ineke Van Kessel
      Several of the alledged witches in Apel and GaNkaone were also subjected to a necklace execution
    • 2004 A Human Being Died That Night: A South African Woman Confronts the Legacy of Apartheid by Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela
      In the fluidly unfolding events of a necklace murder, was there time and space to stop the killing?

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

necklace (third-person singular simple present necklaces, present participle necklacing, simple past and past participle necklaced)

  1. (South Africa) To informally execute by necklacing; by setting on fire a petrol-filled rubber tyre which has been put around the bound victim's neck.
    • May 29 2003, The Star:
      Frustrated residents tied the hands of two suspected criminals, put tyres around their necks and then set them alight. In a manifestation of growing disillusionment with the criminal justice system, residents of Bramfischerville, west of Johannesburg, on Tuesday abducted and necklaced two suspected burglars.
    • 2002 Buthelezi: A Biography by Ben Temkin
      Inkatha members have been hacked to death and necklaced, and their houses have been destroyed
    • 2000 Beyond Our Wildest Dreams: The United Democratic Front and the Transformation of South Africa by Ineke Van Kessel
      The first instance of necklacing occurred in March 1985 in the Eastern Cape township of KwaNobuhle.

Derived terms

See also