kakak

See also: kakák

Indonesian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ka.kaʔ/
• Hyphenation: ka‧kak

Etymology 1

From Malay kakak (“older sister”), from Classical Malay kakak, from Proto-Malayic *kakaʔ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *kaka, from Proto-Austronesian *kaka.

• For sense of older brother, semantic loan from Hokkien 哥哥 (ko-ko, “older brother”) and semantic loan from Javanese ꦏꦏꦁ, ꦏꦏ, ꦏꦏꦏ꧀ (kakang, kaka, kakak).
• For sense of form of address to husband in marital relationship, semantic loan from Javanese ꦏꦏꦁ, ꦏꦏ, ꦏꦏꦏ꧀ (kakang, kaka, kakak).

Noun

kakak (plural)

1. (literally or figuratively, formal) older sibling
2. (literally or figuratively, chiefly Sumatra and Kalimantan) older sister
3. (literally or figuratively, chiefly Jakarta and Java) older brother
4. (chiefly Jakarta) a form of address to an older person (same generation or one generation before)
5. (colloquial) a form of address to any stranger

Usage notes

• People in areas with Malay populations and speaking vernacular Malay dialects only use kakak to address older sisters, otherwise outside those places like Jakarta, it is gender neutral.
• In formal situations (e.g. to address a customer), kakak may be used to address someone with impression she/he is not 'old person' (youthful nuance).

Alternative forms

• KK

Synonyms

• (older sister): see Thesaurus:kakak
• (older brother): see Thesaurus:abang

Derived terms

• kakak ipar

 

Etymology 2

Inherited from Malay kakak. Onomatopoeic, compare to Tagalog kakak.

Root

kakak

1. quack, cluck
2. laugh

   Synonyms: kakah, kahkah

Derived terms

• berkakak
• berkakakan
• mengakak
• terkakak-kakak

 

Further reading

• “kakak” 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.

Javanese

Romanization

kakak

1. Romanization of ꦏꦏꦏ꧀.

Malay

Etymology 1

From Proto-Malayic *kakaʔ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *kaka, from Proto-Austronesian *kaka. Sense of older male sibling lost in Singapore and Malay Peninsular.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kakaʔ/
• Rhymes: -akaʔ, -kaʔ, -aʔ

• Audio (Malaysia):

  (file)

Noun

kakak (Jawi spelling کاکق, plural kakak-kakak, informal 1st possessive kakakku, 2nd possessive kakakmu, 3rd possessive kakaknya)

1. sister (older woman or girl having the same parents)
2. (rare) sibling (older person who shares same parents)
3. (rare) brother (older male sibling)

   Synonyms: abang, uda

4. term of address for a female acquaintance who is a bit older

   engko (“engku”)

Derived terms

• Malay: kakanda, kak, Kak

Related terms

• akak
• akang
• kak
• kakanda
• kakang
• kanda
• kang
• kangmas
• kekanda

 

Etymology 2

Onomatopoeic, compare to Tagalog kakak.

Noun

kakak (Jawi spelling کاکق, plural kakak-kakak, informal 1st possessive kakakku, 2nd possessive kakakmu, 3rd possessive kakaknya)

1. cackle (of duck and geese)
2. laugh

   Synonyms: dekah, kakah, kahkah

Derived terms

Affixed terms and other derivations

Regular affixed derivations:

• berkakak [stative / habitual] (beR-)
• berkakakan [stative / habitual + repetition / reciprocity] (beR- + -an)
• mengakak [agent focus] (meN-)
• terkakak [agentless action] (teR-)

Irregular affixed derivations, other derivations and compound words:

• terkakak-kakak
• kakaktua

References

• Pijnappel, Jan (1875) “کاکق kakak”, in Maleisch-Hollandsch woordenboek, John Enschede en Zonen, Frederik Muller, page 75
• Wilkinson, Richard James (1901) “کاکق kakak”, in A Malay-English dictionary, Hong Kong: Kelly & Walsh limited, page 497
• Wilkinson, Richard James (1932) “kakak”, in A Malay-English dictionary (romanised), volume I, Mytilene, Greece: Salavopoulos & Kinderlis, page 499

Tagalog

Alternative forms

• cacac — obsolete, Spanish-based orthography

Etymology

Onomatopoeic. Compare Indonesian kakak.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ˈkakak/ [ˈkaː.xɐk̚]
• Rhymes: -akak
• Syllabification: ka‧kak

Noun

kakak (Baybayin spelling ᜃᜃᜃ᜔)

1. cackle or cackling of a hen, duck, etc.

   Synonym: putak

Derived terms

• ipangakak
• kumakak
• mangakak

 

See also

• kuwak
• putak

 

Further reading

• “kakak”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018