morsdood, adjective

Forms:
Also moors doed, moors dood.
Origin:
Afrikaans, Dutch, LatinShow more Afrikaans, from Dutch, perhaps from Latin mors death + Dutch dood dead.
colloquial
‘Stone dead’. Cf. (as) dead as a mossie (see mossie sense 2).
1893 H.A. Bryden Gun & Camera 176I pulled up my pony, fired from the saddle,..and next instant, to the general astonishment, the koorhaan fell dead as mutton — ‘moors dood,’ as a Boer would say.
1899 B. Mitford Weird of Deadly Hollow 245That tiger should have been moors doed (stone dead) at every shot.
1904 H.A. Bryden Hist. of S. Afr. 44An old Boer..has been heard to protest that..he would shoot the first man who attempted such a thing moors dood (‘stone dead’).
1969 A. Fugard Boesman & Lena 48Lena: Ja! he’s dead...He’s dead Boesman...Boesman: Morsdood? Lena: Ja.
1989 Advertising sticker, Maybaker (Pty) LtdVrek kills flies morsdood.
‘Stone dead’.
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18931989