jong, noun and & interjection

/jɔŋ/
Forms:
jonge, yongShow more Also jonge, yong, yung.
Plurals:
jongs, (rarely) jongen.
Origin:
Afrikaans, South African DutchShow more Afrikaans, from earlier South African Dutch jongen boy, lad.
colloquial
A. noun
1.
a. In historical contexts. A young (Black) male slave or servant.
1615 W. Peyton in R. Raven-Hart Before Van Riebeeck (1967) 71Twoe yeongers of my Shipps companye..conserted to carrye awaye my boat...for which pretended plott the twoe yeongers..weare..aiudged to the each of them 50 lashes with a Whipp vpon their bare back.
1846 J.C. Brown tr. of T. Arbousset’s Narr. of Explor. Tour to N.-E. of Col. 253Tied his jong, or young bushman slave, to the wheel of his waggon, where he was severely flogged.
1849 J. Tindall Jrnl (1959) 127The master and mistress take a few draws and hand the pipe to a neighbour...It is handed round until it is exhausted, and soon refilled by another ‘jong’ or servant.
1886 G.A. Farini Through Kalahari Desert 279These slaves were called ‘yungs’ or ‘boys’.
1953 J. Collin-Smith Locusts & Wild Honey II. 155I..shouted into the house for the ‘jong’, the coloured houseboy, to bring me coffee.
b. obs. A form of address to a slave or servant of any age.
1812 A. Plumptre tr. of H. Lichtenstein’s Trav. in Sn Afr. I. 119A Hottentot..takes it extremely amiss if he is addressed by the words Pay or Jonge, as the slaves are; he expects to be called by his name if addressed by any one who knows it.
2. offensive
a. A Black man; cf. boy sense 1 a.
1908 [see outa sense 1].
1912 E. London Dispatch 13 Feb. 3 (Pettman)Presently a couple of jongs came along with dainty cigarettes in their mouths.
1926 E. Lewis Mantis 88He’d make you feel a piccanin yourself, a proper little jong that’d never been beyond the dorp.
1955 A. Delius Young Trav. in S. Afr. 100Outa and Aia were general names for more elderly coloured men and women respectively, Jong and Meid for younger people.
1955 A. Delius Young Trav. in S. Afr. 101Dick and Frank helped the dusty Jong to replenish the seed and fertilizer cannisters.
1963 A.M. Louw 20 Days 77‘Katrina,’ the voice outside was soft, wary, cracked with age. ‘Who is that jong — that boy — with you?’
1987 O. Prozesky Wrath of Lamb 11I am old now, but for most of my life white people have called me a ‘jong’ or a ‘boy’.
b. comb.
ou jong obs. [Afrikaans, literally ‘old young’], a form of address to an elderly Black man .
1913 C. Pettman Africanderisms 354Ou’Jong, A curious combination applied to an old coloured servant.
1929 J.G. Van Alphen Jan Venter 263Don’t worry about it, ou jong...You won’t die yet, and when you do, you will go to the Happy Hunting Ground of all Hottentots.
[1970 E. Mundell Informant, Pearston, Eastern CapeAsk the old jong to carry that heavy parcel for you.]
c. A form of address to any Black man.
1917 S.T. Plaatje Native Life 65By his looks and his familiar ‘Dag jong’ we noticed that the policeman was Dutch, and the embodiment of affability.
1961 T. Matshikiza Choc. for my Wife 37‘Can you drink, jong, hey?’ ‘Yes, Baas Smitty.’
1963 K. Mackenzie Dragon to Kill 223So you did it, Ndlala. Well, we will get you, jong.
1980 R. Govender Lahnee’s Pleasure 18What you mean, you don’t know? You must check these things before you drive, jong — I say, I’m sorry sir, I made a mistake sir.
1986 S. Sepamla Third Generation 132‘The baas has asked you a question, jong’ said the aggressive Brink.
1990 J. Naidoo Coolie Location 153She speaks English to him, only English...You know,..no blerrys, no voetsaks, no bliksems, no hey jongs, no pas ops.
3. ‘My (young) friend’, a usually friendly form of address to both men and women, but especially to young men; sometimes conveying exasperation (cf. sense B).
1911 E. Prov. Herald 25 Nov. 5We returned to the station and held sweet converse with diverse Kerels, to whom we were ‘man’ and ‘jong’ after the nature of the tribe.
c1929 S. Black in S. Gray Three Plays (1984) 93Hay-Whotte..: Well, I fancy her...Van K: Hey, play the bally game, jong.
1939 S. Cloete Watch for Dawn 65‘Where is your whip, jong?’ Coenraad asked. ‘I do not ride with a whip, Coenraad,’ Kaspar said.
1947 H.C. Bosman Mafeking Rd (1969) 14‘Yes, jong,’ he said, ‘I am feeling pretty shaky about talking to her, I can tell you.’
1959 J. Meiring Candle in Wind 133‘Pas op, jong,’ the prison guard had said to her as she left the goal one day. ‘We watch all the dagga people.’
c1966 M. Jabour in New S. Afr. Writing 91‘Ja, ja, I warned you not to trust that Jewboy, Jannie,’ she wheezed down his neck, ‘jong, he’ll skin you alive’.
1972 D. Brown on Radio South Africa 24 Mar.Jong, that hairpiece doesn’t suit you.
1975 S. Roberts Outside Life’s Feast 28What do you want with that stick says Jan. Nothing. Well throw it away. No jong I am going to keep it.
1987 ‘A. Amaphixiphixi’ in Frontline Mar. 38Then why the voters love him so I never could descry And thinking once I’d like to know I asked the reason why. They cried, ‘We like his bluster jong It makes us feel so big and strong’.
1991 P. Slabolepszy Braait Laaities. 16There are sharks out there, jong. White men can also be skelms.
4. A young (Afrikaans) man; a boyfriend or lover; kêrel.
1912 F. Bancroft Veldt Dwellers 316Whenever we see a jonge and a meisje together –‘..we can safely reckon that there Mother-Nature will be at..her work of drawing male to female, female to male.’
1920 S. Black Dorp 222Some of the Nationalist ‘jongs’ annoyed him..by bleating ‘ma-a-a!’ to remind him of his ‘goatee’.
1959 J. Packer High Roof 62Bok looked offended. ‘A jong needs a res’ after a whaling expedition.’
1970 M. Dikobe Marabi Dance. 169Yes, I know him. He was my jong. I have a child by him.
1984 in D. Pinnock Brotherhoods 62Many of the gangs are BJs (boere jongs, farm youths) but..the leader is always a local person.
B. interjection An expression of surprise, delight, approval, exasperation, or anger.
1956 A.G. McRae Hill Called Grazing 55Now if I can’t get a permit to sell them, man, jong, I’ll have to drive them up on to the main road.
1963 M.G. McCoy Informant, Port Elizabeth (now Gqeberha), Eastern CapeAndy..said it was a lekker picture, all those ou’s fighting, jong!
1973 Sunday Tribune 1 Apr. 20 (caption)Jong, I’ve had enough of this!
1973 E. Prov. Herald 12 June 9Boetie tilted his hat back with a greasy hand and shook his head. ‘Jong, there’s something I don’t understand about this engine,’ he said.
1978 M. Matshoba Call Me Not a Man 5‘Jong! You can’t even speak Afrikaans?’ the white man went on in the same language. He sounded as if he regarded it as a grave sin for the poor granny not to be able to speak his tongue.
1980 E. Prov. Herald 20 Nov. 1Neels, who does not read music said: ‘Jong, I never expected it, I’m happy for Port Elizabeth that we won.’
1981 Fair Lady 14 Jan. 98‘He looks nice.’ ‘Oh he is. But, jong, is he strict!’
1984 Sunday Times 29 Jan. (Lifestyle) 9Lots of chicks come to me for lessons but, jong, they can’t even begin to hold a bike up.
1986 Informant, East London, Eastern CapeJong he’s a big guy.
A young (Black) male slave or servant.
A form of address to a slave or servant of any age.
A Black man;
a form of address to an elderly Black man
A form of address to any Black man.
‘My (young) friend’, a usually friendly form of address to both men and women, but especially to young men; sometimes conveying exasperation (cf. sense B).
A young (Afrikaans) man; a boyfriend or lover; kêrel.
An expression of surprise, delight, approval, exasperation, or anger.
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16151991

Compounds

ou jong

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Jonas, nounn.jonge vrouw, noun phrasen. phr.
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