biawak
Indonesian
Etymology
From Malay biawak, from Proto-Malayic *bAyawak, from (Western) Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *bayawak.
Pronunciation
- (Standard Indonesian) IPA(key): /biˈawak/ [biˈa.wak̚]
- Rhymes: -awak
- Syllabification: bi‧a‧wak
Noun
biawak (plural biawak-biawak)
- monitor lizard (Varanus sp.)
- Synonym: menyawak
Derived terms
- membiawak
- biawak biasa
- biawak kudung
- biawak pohon
- biawak serunai
Further reading
- “biawak”, in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia [Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016
Malay
Etymology
Inherited from Proto-Malayic *biawak (cf. Iban bayak and Minangkabau biawak),[1] from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *bayawak (cf. Tagalog bayawak and Gorontalo biyawa'o).[2]
Pronunciation
Noun
biawak (Jawi spelling بياوق, plural biawak-biawak or biawak2)
- monitor lizard: Any of various large carnivorous lizards of the family Varanidae, all of whose extant species are of genus Varanus, native to Africa, Asia and Australia.[3]
Hyponyms
Type of monitor lizard
- biawak air / biawak riang-riang (“Asian water monitor”)
- biawak Benggala (“Bengal monitor”)
- biawak bunga / biawak puru (“Clouded monitor”)
- biawak Komodo (“Komodo dragon”)
- biawak kudung (“Dumeril's monitor”)
- biawak serunai (“Roughneck monitor”)
Derived terms
Affixations
- membiawak (“to bellycrawl; to sponge meal (off someone)”)
Compounds
- biawak hidup (“leech; moocher; parasite”) (figurative)
- lidah biawak (“double-tongued”) (idiomatic)
- simpul biawak (“cramp”)
Others
- biawak kudung masuk kampung (“to get lost in enemy territory; notorious thief”)
- bila pula biawak duduk (“camel through the eye of a needle”)
- mendukung biawak hidup (“to do things the hard way”)
Descendants
- > Indonesian: biawak (inherited)
References
- ^ Adelaar, K. A. (1992), Proto-Malayic: The reconstruction of its phonology and parts of its lexicon and morphology[1], Canberra: The Australian National University, page 51
- ^ Blust, Robert; Trussel, Stephen; et al. (2023) “*bayawak”, in the CLDF dataset from The Austronesian Comparative Dictionary (2010–), →DOI
- ^ “biawak”, in Kamus Dewan [The Institute Dictionary] (in Malay), Fourth edition, Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2005, →ISBN
Further reading
- "biawak" in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu (PRPM) [Malay Literary Reference Centre (PRPM)] (in Malay), Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017