Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (S.Afr.) to thrash, to beat up.

1961		A. Fugard Notebooks (1983) 25: The old coloured women [...] had stolen an armful of the best dahlias [...] Mr X, Park Superintendent, said, ‘Take her down, moer her and learn her a lesson’.
1978		M. Tholo 1 Jan. in Hermer Diary of Maria Tholo (2001) 180: Go on Isaac, moer hom.
1985		B. Simon ‘Outers’ Born in the RSA (1997) 39: They jumped a buddy of mine too. They moered him lekker and took his gold watch.
1987		(con. 1950s) G. Moloi My Life 82: Each time he landed a blow the girls would scream ‘Yoh!’ and the boys would shout ‘Moer ’om!’.
1990		R. Gool Cape Town Coolie 178: Vam, kid. Cut a line quick. [...] They gonna moor you!
2000		A. Brink Rights of Desire (2001) 310: (to) moer – to administer a beating.
2005		A. Lovejoy Acid Alex 208: The doctor nods and the boer rears back and moers the cane across your gat.
2010		Mail and Guardian (Johannesburg) 12 Feb. 🌐 He had instructed that two men be beaten up by ’having uttered the words “moer him”’.

2. to kill someone.

1985		Frontline Aug. 54: When I saw what was left of him I just wanted to moer them. Even before that it was drummed into us that what we were there for was to moer the terrs. You feel nothing [DSAE].
2011		Mail and Guardian (Johannesburg) 6 May 🌐 The 37-year-old woman with dreadlocks explained that she had been quite ready to ‘moer him’.