Wiktionary

meid

See also: méid

English

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Afrikaans meid, from English maid. Doublet of maid.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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meid (plural meide)

  1. (South Africa, offensive) A female domestic servant, usually non-white. [from 20th c.]
  2. (South Africa, offensive) A black woman. [from 19th c.]

Anagrams

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Afrikaans

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Etymology

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From English maid (“female domestic servant”).

Noun

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meid (plural meide)

  1. (now offensive) A domestic servant, usually non-white.
  2. (now offensive) A non-white woman.

Dutch

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Dutch Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia nl

Etymology

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From Middle Dutch meit, variant of meget, from Old Dutch *megith, *magath, from Proto-Germanic *magaþs. Doublet of maagd.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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meid f (plural meiden, diminutive meisje n or meiske n or meidje n)

  1. girl, lass
    De meiden hadden afgelopen zaterdag een zwemwedstrijd.
    The girls had a swimming match last Saturday.
    Goed gedaan, meid! ― Well done, girl!
  2. maid
    Synonyms: deerne, dienstbode, dienstmaagd, dienstmeid
  3. Commonly used as an address for female pets, especially female dogs.
    Brave meid! ― Good girl!

Usage notes

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  • Use in the singular may connote fortitude, bravery or acting like a grown-up, but it may also connote vulgarity or subservience due to the meaning “maid”. These connotations are much weaker in the plural, which can be used neutrally with little regard for context.
  • Use for adult women (and to a lesser degree for older adolescent girls) is often considered patronising, which is especially true of the diminutives.
  • The diminutive meidje is uncommon; the regular diminutive is meisje along with its variants meiske and meisie.

Derived terms

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Descendants

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  • Berbice Creole Dutch: meti
  • Petjo: meid

Anagrams

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Estonian

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Pronoun

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meid

  1. partitive of meie

Middle English

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Noun

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meid

  1. Alternative form of mede (“reward”)

Norwegian Nynorsk

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Noun

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meid m (definite singular meiden, indefinite plural meidar, definite plural meidane)

  1. (pre-1901 (Landsmål) or dialectal) alternative form of mei

Veps

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Pronoun

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meid

  1. partitive of mö
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