doek
English
Etymology
Borrowed from Afrikaans doek (“cloth”), from Dutch doek, from Middle Dutch doec, from Old Dutch *duok, from Proto-West Germanic *dōk, from Proto-Germanic *dōkaz. Doublet of duck.
Noun
doek (plural doeke or doeks)
- (South Africa) A cloth. (Can we add an example for this sense?)
- (South Africa) A kopdoek: a kerchief or bandanna worn as a head covering.
- Hypernym: headwrap
- 1965, Doris Lessing, Landlocked, HarperPerennial 1995, p. 227:
- He said: “What have you got that filthy doek on your head for?”
- 1982, Can Themba, The Will to Die,[1]
- "Mama, how about a doek for Janet?"
The doek! God save our gracious doek! A doek is a colourful piece of cloth that the African woman wears as headgear. It is tied stylistically into various shapes from Accra to Cape Town. I do not know the history of this innocuous piece of cloth. In Afrikans, the language of those of our white masters who are of Dutch and Huguenot descent, doek meant, variously, a tablecloth, a dirty rag, or a symbol of the slave. Perhaps it was later used by African women in contact with European ideas of beauty who realised that 'they had no hair' and subconsciously hid their heads under the doek. Whatever else, the doek had come to designate the African woman. So that evening when I said, 'Mama, how about a doek for Janet', I was proposing to transform her, despite her colour and her deep blue eyes, into an African woman for the while.
- "Mama, how about a doek for Janet?"
References
- Can Themba (1982) The Will to Die, David Philip, →ISBN
Anagrams
- Doke, OKed, doke
Afrikaans
Etymology
From Dutch doek, from Middle Dutch doec, from Old Dutch *duok, from Proto-Germanic *dōkaz.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /duk/
Noun
doek (plural doeke)
- cloth, fabric
- canvas
Derived terms
- kopdoek
Descendants
- → English: doek
- → Shona: dhuku
Dutch
Etymology
From Middle Dutch doec, from Old Dutch *duok, from Proto-West Germanic *dōk, from Proto-Germanic *dōkaz.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /duk/
Audio (file) - Hyphenation: doek
- Rhymes: -uk
Noun
doek m or n (plural doeken, diminutive doekje n)
- cloth, linen, fabric
Noun
doek m (plural doeken, diminutive doekje n)
- a piece of cloth
Noun
doek n (plural doeken, diminutive doekje n)
- screen, curtain (at the theater)
- canvas
- painting on canvas
Synonyms
- (piece of cloth): lap
Derived terms
- blinddoek
- brillendoekje
- doekboom
- doeken
- doekje voor het bloeden
- droogdoek
- dundoek
- halsdoek
- handdoek
- hoofddoek
- lendendoek
- monddoek
- neusdoek
- schaamdoek
- schilderdoek
- spandoek
- stofdoek
- theedoek
- uit de doeken doen
- vaatdoek
- vlaggendoek
- witte doek
- zakdoek
- zeildoek
Related terms
- doekoe
Descendants
- Afrikaans: doek
- → English: doek
- → Shona: dhuku
- Berbice Creole Dutch: duku
- Jersey Dutch: duk
- Negerhollands: doek, doekoe
- → Akan: duku
- → Nkonya: duku
- → Wali (Ghana): ’duuku
- → Akebu: ɖuku-yǝ (via an intermediary language)
- → Arawak: doko
- → Aukan: duku
- → English: duck, dook
- → Fon: dukwí
- → Indonesian: duk
- → Japanese: ズック
- → Mbelime: dukìhṵ̀ (via an intermediary language)
- → Nawdm: dukŋa (via an intermediary language)
- → Scots: dook
- → Sranan Tongo: duku
- → Caribbean Javanese: duku
- → Dutch: doekoe
Anagrams
- doke
Zhuang
Etymology
From Proto-Tai *tokᴰ (“to drop”). Cognate with Thai ตก (dtòk), Lao ຕົກ (tok), Lü ᦷᦎᧅ (ṫok), Shan တူၵ်း (túuk), Ahom 𑜄𑜤𑜀𑜫 (tuk), Bouyei dogt.
Pronunciation
- (Standard Zhuang) IPA(key): /tok˥/
- Tone numbers: doek7
- Hyphenation: doek
Verb
doek (Sawndip forms 𬻨 or 笠 or 托 or 得 or 獨 or 堕 or 𰜺 or 𭰚 or 𮒏 or 岳 or 𢟎 or 𭢥 or 独 or ⿺失独 or ⿱入独 or ⿱不独 or ⿱穴独 or 𥫫 or ⿰亻独, 1957–1982 spelling dɵk)
- to fall; to drop