nonnie, noun

/ˈnɔni/
Forms:
Also nonni.
Origin:
AfrikaansShow more Afrikaans, nonna (see nonna) + -ie.
obsolescent
a. Often my nonnie. A respectful term of address or reference used often by servants to a young unmarried woman or to a girl, often the daughter of the employer; kleinmies, see mies sense c; kleinnooi, see nooi sense 1 c; nonna sense 1 a; also called klein missus (see missus sense 3). Cf. nooi sense 2. See also baasie sense 1 a.
1913 J. Brandt Petticoat Commando 200‘Are you thinking of your wife and children, Paulus?’ ‘Oh yes, Nonnie, I am always thinking of them, but I was thinking also how sad it was to forget all my learning.’
1930 S.T. Plaatje Mhudi (1975) 140I saw her..shyly devouring you with her dreamy eyes but not daring to give vent to her raptures in public. Phil, that’s the nonnie for you!
1953 D. Rooke S. Afr. Twins 16Above all this noise, Aia Kobie was exclaiming, ‘My nonnie, and my basie’.
1960 C. Hooper Brief Authority 89Isaac waited patiently to be served. ‘Yes?’ asked the young white female assistant. ‘Good morning, my nonnie.’ ‘Morning.’ The nonnie was melting under this old-world treatment.
1968 Cole & Flaherty House of Bondage 73Servants obsequiously call the children klein baas (small boss) and nonnie (small madam). The kids soon get to like this.
1969 M. Benson At Still Point 53At home,..Amos and Cornelius would come to me: ‘Can I have a night pass, please, nonnie?’ Then I would spell out on a piece of paper: Please pass native Cornelius with the curfew time, our address, the date.
1972 L. Van der Post Story like Wind 269Nonnie was a dimutive of Nonna, the polite word for mistress used by the servants in Francois’s world. The daughters of the houses inevitably became nonnie (little mistress).
1974 [see oumissus sense b].
b. Used as a title, with a name; nonna sense 1 b.
1953 D. Rooke S. Afr. Twins 16Nonnie Tiensie how pretty you are.
Often my nonnie.A respectful term of address or reference used often by servants to a young unmarried woman or to a girl, often the daughter of the employer; kleinmies, see mies sense c; kleinnooi, see nooi sense 1 c; nonna sense 1 a; also called klein missus (see missus sense 3).
Used as a title, with a name; nonna sense 1 b.
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19131972

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obsolete or obsolescent
nonna, nounn.non-voter, nounn.
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