meid

See also: méid

English

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• (S Africa, UK) IPA^(key): /meɪt/
• Rhymes: -eɪt

Noun

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

• Demi, Diem, Dime, IMed, demi, demi-, dime, idem

Afrikaans

Etymology

From English maid (“female domestic servant”).

Noun

meid (plural meide)

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

Dutch

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mɛi̯t/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: meid
• Rhymes: -ɛi̯t
• Homophones: mijd, mijdt, mijt

Noun

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

• 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

• dienstmeid
• huismeid
• keukenmeid
• meidengroep
• meidenvenijn
• meis
• meisje
• meisken
• topmeid
• wereldmeid

 

Descendants

• Berbice Creole Dutch: meti
• Petjo: meid

Anagrams

• idem

Estonian

Pronoun

meid

1. partitive of meie

Middle English

Noun

meid

1. Alternative form of mede (“reward”)

Norwegian Nynorsk

Noun

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

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

Veps

Pronoun

meid

1. partitive of mö