mevrouw
English edit
Etymology edit
Noun edit
mevrouw (plural mevrouws or mevrouwen)
- A Dutchwoman, especially a Dutch or Afrikaner mistress.
- 1917, Emilie Benson Knipe, Alden Arthur Knipe, A Maid of Old Manhattan, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company, page 24:
- You’re more like the English who think themselves vastly superior to us and mix only with Mevrouwen and Heeren.
- 1948 August 27, The Freehold Transcript, volume LX, number 52, Freehold, N.J., page 4:
- The Dutch mynheeren and mevrouwen everywhere are busily engaged in decorating their clean cities and no doubt they will all lift their glasses at the same time and drink the health of their good Queen with that famous national drink Holland gin.
- 2005, The Spectator, page 44:
- While gossiping and exchanging news, the mevrouwen are also poking, prodding, sniffing, scrutinising; weighing up options and recipes.
Dutch edit
Etymology edit
From late Middle Dutch mevrouwe. Equivalent to mijn (“my”) + vrouw (“lady”), formed similar to English milady.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
mevrouw f (plural mevrouwen, diminutive mevrouwtje n)
Descendants edit
- Afrikaans: mevrou