moenie, verb

/ˈmʊni//ˈmuni/
Forms:
Also moeni, mooni.
Origin:
Afrikaans, DutchShow more Afrikaans, contraction of Dutch moet niet must not, do not.
‖1. Don’t; (you) mustn’t.
1913 C. Pettman Africanderisms 321Moeni,..A contraction of moet niet = must not, do not.
c1929 S. Black in S. Gray Three Plays (1984) 48Smith:..’Ow about a kiss? Sophie: Ach no, Corporal, moenie! Smith: No, I said, you moenie — dat’s Dutch.
1966 Cape Argus 19 Sept. 9A teacher once told his class that it ‘moenie die languages so opmix nie!’
1971 P. Freedman ‘The Traffic Cop’. (lyrics)Move your car, meneer, Jy moenie park in here.
1985 [see sukkel sense 2].
2. colloquial. In the verbal phrases moenie panic, moenie panic nie, moenie worry, moenie worry nie/-ni/ [Afrikaans moenie, moenie..nie don’t + English panic or worry], ‘don’t panic’, ‘don’t worry.’ See also alles sal regkom.
a1931 S. Black in S. Gray Three Plays (1984) 140I don’ know where is my fadder so moenie worry nie. My mother ran away from him.
1968 A. Fulton Dark Side of Mercy 7So you are not used to the saddle...Moenie worry. After a few weeks in this country your arse will be as tough as raw hide.
1971 Daily Dispatch 23 Feb. 10Moenie panic, dearest — it’s probably only a frog in your throat.
1975 Friend 15 Oct. 21‘Look what you have done to my car — my husband is going to kill me tonight,’ cried the woman. ‘Moenie panic nie, the State will pay,’ came the reassuring reply.
1978 M. Van Biljon in Sunday Times 1 Jan. (Mag. Sect.) 1If some of the events seem familiar enough to give you a feeling of deja vu, moenie worry nie.
1982 ‘Plural Stan’ in Drum May 39Ag, moenie worry. The lyrics may have been changed somewhat but the meaning of the song is tog still the same.
1985 Vula Oct. 12The world has watched once again to see how SA keeps order. They have seen bullets, bannings, detentions and deaths. Everything’s in order, moenie worrie.
1990 M. Nawa in Staffrider Vol.9 No.1, 68Moenie worry Comrades you are not dead but living in our hearts and respect.
1991 K. Owen in Sunday Times 26 May 27The break in negotiations will not, despite all the sound and fury, abort the process. Meanwhile moenie panic nie.
Don’t; (you) mustn’t.
In the verbal phrases moenie panic, moenie panic nie, moenie worry, moenie worry nie/-ni/ [Afrikaans moenie, moenie..nie don’t + English panic or worry],‘don’t panic’, ‘don’t worry.’
Entry Navigation

Visualise Quotations

Quotation summary

Senses

19131991
moegoe, nounn.moepel, nounn.
Copyright © 2025 Dictionary Unit for South African English