Meanings
plural moffies
- South AfricaderogatoryoffensiveAn effeminate homosexual man; fairy.
Sometimes, they admonished their children in mock-protest for following and making fun of the moffies. "Go away," one moffie said in a shrilly^([sic]) voice, elaborately fanning out long painted scissors-like fingernails to scare the children away.
2005, Verenia Keet, Colored Hill, page 78
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
- Afrikaansmoffie
- Englishmoffie
Probably borrowed from Afrikaans moffie (from mofskaap, a Merino sheep), or possibly derived from mophrodite (a slang variant of hermaphrodite). Other theories derive it from Afrikaans moffie (“mitten”) or from English mauve but are considered tenuous and far-fetched.
More words from Afrikaans
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with moffie
All rhymes →Cite this entry
moffie. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/moffie
“moffie.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/moffie. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “moffie,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/moffie.
Source: moffie on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.