doek

See also: dök

English

Etymology

From Afrikaans, in turn from Dutch, doek, a cloth.

Noun

doek (plural doeke or doeks)

1. (South Africa) A cloth — in English in common usage it refers especially to the adopted Afrikaans sense of a kerchief or bandanna worn as a head covering, in contrast to the general Afrikaans usage, which can refer to any cloth. Also cf. headcloth, headscarf.
   • 1965, Doris Lessing, Landlocked, HarperPerennial 1995, p. 227:

     He said: “What have you got that filthy doek on your head for?”

   • 1982, Can Themba, The Will to Die,

     "Mama, how about a doek for Janet?"
     The doek! God save our gracious doek! A doek is a colourful piece of cloth that the African woman wears as headgear. It is tied stylistically into various shapes from Accra to Cape Town. I do not know the history of this innocuous piece of cloth. In Afrikans, the language of those of our white masters who are of Dutch and Huguenot descent, doek meant, variously, a tablecloth, a dirty rag, or a symbol of the slave. Perhaps it was later used by African women in contact with European ideas of beauty who realised that 'they had no hair' and subconsciously hid their heads under the doek. Whatever else, the doek had come to designate the African woman. So that evening when I said, 'Mama, how about a doek for Janet', I was proposing to transform her, despite her colour and her deep blue eyes, into an African woman for the while.

Anagrams

• Doke, OKed, doke

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Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch doec, from Old Dutch *duok, from Proto-Germanic *dōkaz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /duk/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -uk

Noun

doek m, n (plural doeken, diminutive doekje n)

1. cloth, linen, fabric

doek m (plural doeken, diminutive doekje n)

1. a piece of cloth

doek n (plural doeken, diminutive doekje n)

1. screen, curtain (at the theater)
2. canvas
3. painting on canvas

Synonyms

• (piece of cloth): lap

Derived terms

Related terms

• blinddoek
• handdoek

• lendendoek
• uit de doeken doen

Descendants

• → Sranan Tongo: duku
  • → Dutch: doekoe
• → Indonesian: duk

Anagrams

• doke

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Zhuang

Etymology

From Proto-Tai *tokᴰ (“to drop”). Cognate with Thai ตก (dtòk), Lao ຕົກ (tok), Lü ᦷᦎᧅ (ṫok), Shan တူၵ်း (túuk), Ahom 𑜄𑜤𑜀𑜫 (tuk).

Pronunciation

• (Standard Zhuang) IPA^(key): /tok˥/
• Tone numbers: doek⁷
• Hyphenation: doek

Verb

doek (old orthography dɵk, Sawndip forms 𬻨, 笠, 托, 得, 獨, 堕, ⿰氵笠, 𭰚, 𮒏, 岳, ⿰忄徒, 𭢥, 独, ⿺失独, ⿱入独, ⿱不独, ⿱穴独, 𥫫, ⿰亻独)

1. to fall; to drop