Jangroentjie, noun

Forms:
Also Jan groentje.
Origin:
AfrikaansShow more Afrikaans, literally ‘little green John’, Jan John + groen green + diminutive suffix -ie.
1. Any of several species of sunbird, especially Nectarinia famosa of the Nectariniidae; also called honey-sucker (sense 2).
Note:
In G.L. Maclean’s Roberts' Birds of Sn Afr. (1993), N. famosa is called the ‘malachite sunbird’.
1909 Andiazi in E. London Dispatch 2 Apr. 4There is a reason..and a very cogent one, for Jan Groentje to wear a fine coat.
1913 C. Pettman Africanderisms 233Jan groentje, The name given to the exquisite little Sugar-birds..which ‘like emeralds feathered in flame’ hover over the flowers of garden and bush.
1982 S. Afr. Panorama Sept. 50Jangroentjie is a glossy green bird.
2. Peppermint liqueur: Groen Mamba, see mamba sense 2.
1949 L.G. Green In Land of Afternoon 58Every farmer made three liqueurs for house-hold use — Jan Groentjie (peppermint), aniseed and Van der Hum.
Any of several species of sunbird, especially Nectarinia famosa of the Nectariniidae; also called honey-sucker (sense 2).
Peppermint liqueur: Groen Mamba, see mamba sense 2.
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19091982