emmer, noun
/ˈemə/
- Forms:
- Also emer, emir.
- Origin:
- Dutch, AfrikaansShow more Dutch, later Afrikaans.
A bucket; obsolete, a unit of measurement, especially for farm produce. Occasionally with defining word, melkemmer /ˈmelkˌemə/ [Afrikaans, melk milk], a milking bucket.
1817 G. Barker Journal. 20 JuneTwo emmers of barley were sown whilst I was at Grams-town.
1979 M. Matshoba Call Me Not a Man 80First rinsing the baby pail outside, she emptied the hot water into it, cooled it with two jugs from the emmer under the kitchen table and went back to her room.
A bucket; obsolete, a unit of measurement, especially for farm produce. Occasionally with defining word, melkemmer /ˈmelkˌemə/ [Afrikaans, melk milk], a milking bucket.
- Derivatives:
- Hence emmerful noun [+ English -ful; or translation of Afrikaans emmervol], a bucketful.1874 A. Edgar in Friend 18 JuneMr Boshoff said they had stolen about an ‘emmerful’ of bojala or Kafir beer.
Copyright © 2023 Dictionary Unit for South African English.