‖magtig, interjection
/ˈmaxtəx/
- Forms:
- Show more Also maagtig, machtig, maghtag, magtag.
- Origin:
- Afrikaans, DutchShow more Afrikaans (earlier Dutch machtig), elliptical for alamachtig, allemachtig, see allemagtig.
‘Lord’, ‘Heavens above’: an exclamation expressing surprise, delight, dismay, admiration, or reproach; magtie. Sometimes in the phrase my magtig/meɪ -/, formerly also mij magtig [Afrikaans my my, from Dutch mij], having a similar but intensified meaning. Cf. allemagtig.
1871 W.G. Atherstone in A.M.L. Robinson Sel. Articles from Cape Monthly Mag. (1978) 81‘Magtig!’ exclaimed the old Frontier Boer, when he first heard of the iron rail, ‘our roads are so heavy already, what will our poor oxen do with iron roads!’