viooltjie, noun

Forms:
Also viooltje.
Origin:
South African Dutch, DutchShow more South African Dutch viooltje from Dutch viool violin + diminutive suffix -ie, named for the noise produced by the stalks when they are rubbed together (see quotation 1913).
Any of several plants which produce a noise when their stems rub together, especially species of Lachenalia and Ornithogalum. See also chincherinchee.
1904 [see chincherinchee].
1913 C. Pettman Africanderisms 536Viooltjes,..Ornithogalum thyrsoides. The name is also applied throughout the Western Districts to the many species of Lachenalia. It refers to the squeaking noise which children produce by drawing the flower stalks of these plants across one another, and also to the manner in which the noise is produced.
1973 J. Rabie in S. Gray Writers’ Territory 169In July and August the first wild flowers already steal the show. First the rosy viooltjie.
1975 A.A. Mauve in Std Encycl. of Sn Afr. XI. 249The name ‘viooltjie’ is sometimes wrongly applied to some bulbous Cape plants belonging to the lily family.., viz the genera Lachenalia and Ornithogalum.
Any of several plants which produce a noise when their stems rub together, especially species of Lachenalia and Ornithogalum.
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19131975