sooterkin en · NOUN
Etymology
From dialectal Dutch zoeterke(n) (“sweatheart”) (compare zoetje, zoetke (“sweetheart”)), equivalent to sweet + -kin or soot + -kin.
Meanings
- A mouse-like creature which, according to folklore, Dutch women who sit over stoves give birth to.
-
(figuratively) An abortive scheme.
Fruits of dull heat, and sooterkins of wit.
1728, [Alexander Pope], “(please specify the page)”, in The Dunciad. An Heroic Poem. […], Dublin; London: […] A. Dodd, →OCLC:
- (colloquial) A Dutch person.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| sooterkins | Number=Plur | lexicographic |