vuurhoutjie

Afrikaans

Etymology

Compound of vuur (“fire”) +‎ houtjie (“little stick/piece of wood”). Some Dutch dictionaries from around 1900 mention Dutch vuurhoutje, although there are few attestations from this period that don't clearly relate to southern Africa. The word was therefore likely formed in Afrikaans.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfyrˌɦœu̯.ki/, /ˈfyrœu̯ki/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

vuurhoutjie (plural vuurhoutjies)

1. A match, a matchstick.

Usage notes

When vuurhoutjie is the first, or at least non-final, element of a compound, the form is usually vuurhout.

Derived terms

• vuurhoutboksie
• vuurhoutdosie

Related terms

• vuurhout