‖liefie, noun

/ˈlifi/
Origin:
AfrikaansShow more Afrikaans, lief dear, beloved + -ie.
colloquial
Among Afrikaners: an endearment, ‘little love’.
1971 Sunday Times 21 Mar. (Suppl.) 14Haremse did his best to comfort his distraught wife. ‘They’ll catch him, liefie.’
1972 J. Packer Boomerang 54‘You’re the girl in my life, liefie — no one else.’ Liefie — I was glad to be his ‘little love,’ the girl in his life.
1985 P. Diamond in Style Dec. 26Liefie, you must believe me. I’ve just come from the city and there it all was.
1987 L. Beake Strollers 75For the thousandth time Van Jaarsveld explained to her about being a policeman. ‘There’s a big panic on, liefie! I must go!’
an endearment, ‘little love’.
Entry Navigation

Visualise Quotations

Quotation summary

Senses

19711987

Browse Related Words

By Category

Titles and Modes of Address
Family and Social Relationships

By Origin

Afrikaans

By Usage

colloquial
liedjie, nounn.lieg, verb intransitivev.
Copyright © 2025 Dictionary Unit for South African English