badak air

Indonesian

Etymology

Compound of badak (“rhinoceros”) +‎ air (“water”), inherited from Malay badak air. Probably related to the idea of Hebrew בהמות (behemót, “behemoth”) which suggested by some modern scholar as loanword of an unattested word

(*pꜣ-jḥ-mw, “hippopotamus”, literally “the ox of the water”) and the later Coptic descendants ⲡⲉϩⲉⲙⲟⲟⲩ (pehemoou) via Old Javanese wadak (“wild buffalo”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbadak ˈaɪr/

Noun

badak air (plural badak-badak air)

1. (zoology) hippopotamus

   Synonym: kuda nil

Further reading

• “badak air” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

Malay

Etymology

From badak (“rhinoceros”) +‎ air (“water”).

Noun

badak air (Jawi spelling بادق اءير, plural badak-badak air, informal 1st possessive badak airku, 2nd possessive badak airmu, 3rd possessive badak airnya)

1. hippopotamus

Further reading

• “badak air” in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu | Malay Literary Reference Centre, Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017.