bintang berekor

Indonesian

Etymology

From Malay bintang berekor, probably reinforced by calque of Dutch staartster (literally “tail star”).

Noun

bintang berekor (plural bintang-bintang berekor)

1. (colloquial) comet

   Synonym: komet

Further reading

• “bintang berekor” 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

Compound of bintang (“star”) +‎ berekor (“tailed”). Compare with Tamil வால்வெள்ளி (vālveḷḷi), Arabic مُذَنَّب (muḏannab) and Thai ดาวหาง (daao-hǎang).

Noun

bintang berekor (plural bintang-bintang berekor, informal 1st possessive bintang berekorku, 2nd possessive bintang berekormu, 3rd possessive bintang berekornya)

1. comet

   Synonym: komet

References

• Pijnappel, Jan (1875) “بنتڠ bintang”, in Maleisch-Hollandsch woordenboek, John Enschede en Zonen, Frederik Muller, page 103
• Wilkinson, Richard James (1901) “بنتڠ bintang”, in A Malay-English dictionary, Hong Kong: Kelly & Walsh limited, page 118
• Wilkinson, Richard James (1932) “bintang”, in A Malay-English dictionary (romanised), volume I, Mytilene, Greece: Salavopoulos & Kinderlis, page 143

Further reading

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