Apartheid
Overview
An institutional system of racial separation that existed mainly in southwest Africa, which extended to housing, education, sports, public services, economics, and more. This existed from around 1948 to 1994, and meant different things depending on your race. White people were at the top of the castes, followed by those from places like India, and black Africans at the bottom.
Etymology
From Afrikaans, meaning “separateness” or “the state of being apart,” or literally, “apart-ness.”
Also see Words & Definitions.