Skip to main content
Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela

68 1.6
A South African leader who fought for equal rights and became the first Black president after 27 years in prison
  • proper noun
: Nelson Mandela
  • On May 10, 1994, Nelson Mandela became the president of South Africa, marking a significant moment in the country's history.
  • President Nelson Mandela
  • release of Nelson Mandela
  • former president Nelson Mandela

Examples

  • Only a few years ago, Nelson Mandela was a Marxist terrorist.

    Academic text (1995)
  • "The Road to Democracy" essentially addresses the history of voters' rights, including the election of Nelson Mandela.

    Academic text (1995)
  • On May 10, 1994, former prisoner Nelson Mandela became the president of South Africa.

    Academic text (2005)
  • Nelson Mandela, who about that time was marking his first 100 days in office as President of South Africa, gave the opening address.

    Academic text (1995)
  • Nelson Mandela was elected the first African President of South Africa in 1994, officially ending a long tradition of apartheid in South Africa.

    Blog text (9)
  • In 1995, then-President of South Africa Nelson Mandela legalized the generic reproduction of these drugs.

    Academic text (2001)
  • It depicts Nelson Mandela placing his vote in the ballot box under the observation of an I.E.C. representative.

    Academic text (1995)
  • In May 1996, President Nelson Mandela had said that South Africa could not in good conscience be "very tough" on illegal immigrants from neighboring countries where the ANC had itself found sanctuary during the liberation struggle.

    Academic text (2001)
  • Nelson Mandela outlined his vision for South African foreign policy months before his May 1994 inauguration and has since elaborated on that vision in speeches to the United States Congress and the United Nations General Assembly.

    Academic text (1995)
  • As Nelson Mandela said in Foreign Affairs before his election as president in April 1994, "The African National Congress (ANC) believes that the charting of a new foreign policy for South Africa is a key element in the creation of a peaceful and prosperous country."

    Academic text (1995)

Synonyms

Mandela
vsNelson Mandela
135 2.7

A South African leader who fought to end racial segregation and became the country's first black president

is the full formal name used in official or historical contexts

Surface Forms

Morphology

Nelson + Mandela

This is a proper name referring to a specific historical person; knowing the constituent tokens 'Nelson' and 'Mandela' does not let a B1 learner infer the biographical meaning (anti-apartheid leader, prisoner, president). Personal names are essentially arbitrary labels and their referential content is not compositionally derivable from their parts, so the expression is opaque to learners.

Etymology

Nelson Mandela belongs to a South African leader who spent 27 years in prison for fighting apartheid and later became his country's first Black president. One strong image people remember is him walking free from prison and forgiving his enemies, so his name now stands for 'freedom', 'justice' and 'peace'.