S. African. [Du., f. voor- before + loopen to run (see LEAP v.).] A native boy who walks with the foremost pair of a team of oxen in order to guide them.
1852. C. Barter, Dorp & Veld, vii. 49. Our driver and leader, or voor looper, were both Hottentots.
1878. Aylward, Transvaal of Today, ii. 18, note. Every team of bullocks has a leader, generally a native boy, who holds a tow-line fastened to the horns of the front oxen, hence the word ‘Voorlooper.’
1885. Rider Haggard, K. Solomon’s Mines, i. A wagon, with a driver, at voorlooper, and a Kafir hunter.
