maatje

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English

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Dutch maatje.

Noun

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maatje (plural maatjes)

  1. A fermented herring.
    • 1987, David Butcher, Following the fishing:
      The maatje herrin' were very popular over in Germany. That was a very light cure with just a fine sprinkling o' salt.
    • 1997, John Bayley, The red hat:
      [] with Charles making quite a good shot at playing the obliging husband, I seized the chance of buying and eating a maatje.

Dutch

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Etymology 1

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Diminutive of maat +‎ -je. Compare English matey.

Noun

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maatje n (plural maatjes)

  1. maatjesharing, a young herring
  2. (literally) a small maat:
    1. a small size, measure etc.
    2. a young or tiny mate
  3. also used as an informal address for a male
Descendants
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  • English: maatje
  • Polish: majtek

See also

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Etymology 2

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Diminutive of ma (mom) +‎ -tje.

Noun

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maatje n (plural maatjes)

  1. diminutive of ma