doedoe, verb intransitive
/ˈdudu/
- Forms:
- Also do-do, do-doo.
- Origin:
- Afrikaans, IsiZulu, Dutch, MalayShow more Nursery word, in Afrikaans as doedoe, but of many possible origins: isiZulu duduza to lull (a baby) to sleep, or Dutch dodijnen to rock (a child) to sleep, or Malay dodoi a lullaby.
colloquial
In children’s language: to (go to) sleep. Also (frequently doedoes) used with adverbial or adjectival force in the phrases to go doedoe, to go doedoes,or (by analogy with ‘beddy-byes’) to go doedoebye, to go doedoebyes, to go to sleep, to go to bed. Cf. lala.
[1934 C.P. Swart Supplement to Pettman. 42Doedoe, An onomatopoeic word used by Afrikaans-speaking mothers when children are lulled to sleep. The term is also used as a verb signifying to sleep.]
1990 Informant, Grahamstown (now Makhanda, Eastern Cape)Time to go doedoebyes, my baby.
to (go to) sleep.
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