tameletjie, noun

/ˌtaməˈle(i)ki/
Forms:
tamaledjie, tamaletjeShow more Also tamaledjie, tamaletje, tamaletjie, tamalichie, tameletje, tamelettje, tamelijtje, tammeletje, tammeletjie, tammelijtje, tomelah, tommelaitje, tommelatche, tommelykie, Tommy Larche.
Origin:
Afrikaans, DutchShow more Afrikaans, perhaps adaptation of Dutch tabletje tablet, lozenge, flat cake of chocolate, sugar, etc.
1. A hard toffee, sometimes containing pine nuts or almonds. Also attributive, and figurative.
1838 T. Shone Diary. 6 Aug.In the evening I made the children some tommelatche as a treat on my birthday.
1862 T. Shone Diary. 18 JuneMade some Tommy Larche for the children.
1862 T. Shone Diary. 17 JulyMrs K. gave me a bason of sugar, to make Tomelah.
1874 Cape Argus 24 Nov. 4She..had a decided penchant for ginger-beer and tamalichies.
1891 H.J. Duckitt Hilda’s ‘Where Is It?’ 237‘Tamelettjes.’ (A favourite Cape Sweet.)
1919 M.M. Steyn Diary 48He..was a general favourite..with us youngsters, who received many a sixpence from him for the purchase of tameletjes, a species of toffee dear to South African boys.
1926 P. Smith Beadle (1929) 181Jantje brought with him, secreted about his person, a horrible sticky mess of almond tommelaitjes.
1945 N. Devitt People & Places 15Favourite old Cape Dutch confections were tameletjes, a sweet flavoured with naartje peel.
1953 Cape Argus 28 Feb. (Mag. Sect.) 3Under a large oak in the main avenue sat a friendly, fat Coloured Woman selling sweets — the ‘Tammeletje Woman’ we called her.
1968 K. McMagh Dinner of Herbs 4On display..stood rows and rows of tamaletjies, each in its white paper shell with corners neatly pinched, each and every one richly encrusted with almonds — price: one penny each.
1970 E. Mundell Informant, Pearston, Eastern CapeThe jam cooked for too long and is tameletjie now.
1974 Cape Times 12 Jan. (Weekend Mag.) 7The highlight of our excursions was the tameletjies, a delicious sweet made with butter, brown sugar, syrup, vinegar and water, and the addition of the [dennebol] pips, which my elder sister made for us.
1988 F. Williams Cape Malay Cookbk 7Sweetmeats, like syrupy koeksisters and crunchy tameletjies.
2. mebos sense b.
1970 S. Sparks Informant, Fort Beaufort, Eastern CapeMinced fruit and sugar dried in the sun is known as Tamaledjie.
1970 C. Kinsley Informant, Koegasbrug, Northern CapeTammeletjie. Minced fruit dried and then rolled.
1972 Beeton & Dorner in Eng. Usage in Sn Afr. Vol.3 No.1, 32Tameletjie,..flat slab of dried fruit or a kind of toffee made of butter and sugar.
1976 S. Afr. Panorama May 26The women-folk get busy preserving, conserving and making dried fruit (tameletjie) and supervise the liqueurs.
A hard toffee, sometimes containing pine nuts or almonds. Also attributive, and figurative.
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18381988

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figurative or allusive
tambotie, nounn.Tammaka, nounn.
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