Heer, interjection and & noun

/hɪə(r)/
Forms:
Also with small initial.
Origin:
DutchShow more Dutch, found in all senses given below.
A. interjection ‘Lord’, ‘God’; obsolescent form of Here interjection.
1786 G. Forster tr. of A. Sparrman’s Voy. to Cape of G.H. II. 274A sea-cow came out of the river, rushing upon us, with a hideous cry,..at the same time, I heard the farmer call out, ‘Heer Jesus!’
1816 G. Barker Journal. 3 Feb.I said Heer (naming his Lord) I cannot walk so fast as you.
1912 F. Bancroft Veldt Dwellers 32‘Heer!’ growled du Bruyn, removing his pipe.., ‘but they are coming, neef.’
1979 M. Matshoba Call Me Not a Man 43Heer! You don’t know how bad life can get for a black man in this godforsaken land, my friend.
B. noun  obs.
1. Usually designating a Dutch- or Afrikaans-speaker, and indicating that the man referred to is considered worthy of respect. See also meneer.
a. In full the Heer: ‘Mister’, a respectful title used with a man’s surname.
1800 Lady A. Barnard in D. Fairbridge Lady Anne Barnard (1924) 185Tomorrow the people embark, & the Heer Ross amongst the rest, who was in the Castle to-day with Mr Barnard.
1905 P. Gibbon Vrouw Grobelaar 109The Heer van der Poel was always a quiet man, but there was nothing weak in him.
[1919 M. Greenlees tr. of O.F. Mentzel’s Life at Cape in Mid-18th C. 50De Heer Gesagshebber, as he was called when he was Acting Governor.]
b. A man, a gentleman; sometimes used deferentially or respectfully as a term of address in the third person, instead of ‘you’ (see quotation 1822).
1800 Lady A. Barnard in D. Fairbridge Lady Anne Barnard (1924) 250Dr Tytler..will be esteemed the Guardian Angel of the Cape by preserving the lives of the Heers & the beauty of the Vrouws.
1821 C.I. Latrobe Jrnl of Visit 85Brother Bonatz adding, that I was De Heer, of whom he had told them, that he would come from Europe to see them.
1822 W.J. Burchell Trav. I. 194At my declining her offer of a bed-room, the good lady expressed surprise that the Heer should think his waggon better than the house.
[1824 W.J. Burchell Trav. II. 107My own Hottentots had given them to understand that I was not their inferior, and that, notwithstanding the weather-beaten appearance of my dress, I was an ‘Engelsche Heer’.]
1833 in A. Gordon-Brown Artist’s Journey (1965) Boy wanted me to stop — the heer in the veld bringing home the cattle — rode to meet him.
[1910 D. Fairbridge That Which Hath Been (1913) 43‘What will d’oude Heer say?’ he muttered in awestruck tones to Abdol.]
[1973 J. Meintjes Voortrekkers 854Hers was clearly not a happy marriage to a man more than twenty years her senior...Yet, she was loyal to den oude heer (the old man).]
c. ‘Sir’, a respectful term of address.
1901 E. Wallace Unofficial Despatches 62You have sent word for me to bring in my cart and mules, and my horses, heer, but ach, what is the good of your asking?
2. In a religious sense: Lord; obsolete form of Here noun.
1896 H.A. Bryden Tales of S. Afr. 217I was always a merry one, and that, thank the Heer God, is the reason I have got so well through my troubles.
1906 H. Rider Haggard Benita 77One day Missee, he be a great man..— if the Heer God Almighty let him.
‘Lord’, ‘God’; obsolescent form of Here interjection.
Usually designating a Dutch- or Afrikaans-speaker, and indicating that the man referred to is considered worthy of respect.
In full the Heer:‘Mister’, a respectful title used with a man’s surname.
A man, a gentleman; sometimes used deferentially or respectfully as a term of address in the third person, instead of ‘you’ (see quotation 1822).
‘Sir’, a respectful term of address.
Lord; obsolete form of Here noun.
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17861979

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obsolete or obsolescent
heemraad, nounn.Heikum, nounn.
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