selak

Cebuano

Etymology

From English shellac, from shell +‎ lac, calque translation of French laque (“lac”) + en (“in”) + écailles (“scales, shells”).

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: se‧lak

Noun

selak

1. shellac; a processed secretion of the lac insect, Coccus lacca; used in polishes, varnishes etc.
2. (by extension) varnishing; an application of varnish

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:selak.

Indonesian

Etymology 1

Inherited from Malay selak, from Classical Malay sila, from Sanskrit शील (śīla, “conduct, beauty, form, virtue”). Doublet of sila.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈse.lak/
• Rhymes: -lak, -ak, -k
• Hyphenation: se‧lak

Verb

selak (base, imperative & colloquial selak, active menyelak, ordinary passive diselak, adversative passive terselak)

1. to open

   Synonyms: buka, singkap

Derived terms

• diselak
• diselakkan
• menyelak
• menyelakkan
• terselak

Etymology 2

Inherited from Malay selak borrowed from Hindi सलाख (salākh, “iron bar; rod”), from Sanskrit शलाका (śalākā).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sə.ˈlak/
• Rhymes: -lak, -ak, -k
• Hyphenation: sê‧lak

Noun

sêlak (plural selak-selak)

1. bar, bolt

Derived terms

• diselak
• menyelak

Etymology 3

Borrowed from Betawi [Term?], from Javanese ꦱꦼꦭꦏ꧀, ꦱꦼꦊꦏ꧀ (selak, selek, “on the verge of, about to”, literally “to be choking”), from Old Javanese sĕlĕk, slĕk (literally “choke”), probably from Proto-Mon-Khmer *cʔə(ə)ʔ ~ *cʔə(ə)k ~ *cʔak (“to hiccough, belch”) (compare to Khmer ត្អើក (tʼaək, “hiccup”), Vietnamese nấc (“to hiccup”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sə.ˈlak/
• Rhymes: -lak, -ak, -k
• Hyphenation: sê‧lak

Verb

sêlak (base, imperative & colloquial selak, active menyelak, ordinary passive diselak, adversative passive terselak)

1. to jump (the queue).

   Synonym: menyelip

2. to haste

   Synonyms: mendesak, membangatkan, menggesa-gesakan

3. (dialect) to be choked: having been unable to breathe due to airway obstruction (choking) or strangulation, but usually to the point of pain and discomfort without death.

   Synonym: tersedak

Derived terms

• diselak
• keselak
• menyelak
• terselak

Further reading

• “selak” 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 1

Variant of silak from Sanskrit शील (śīla, “conduct, beauty, form, virtue”). Doublet of sila. (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈse.laʔ/

Verb

selak (Jawi spelling سيلق)

1. to open, to uncover, to pull up (of fabric, curtains)

   Synonyms: buka, singkap, angkat, tarik

2. to flick the pages of a book, to scroll or swipe on a phone's touchscreen

References

• Pijnappel, Jan (1875) “سيلق silak”, in Maleisch-Hollandsch woordenboek, John Enschede en Zonen, Frederik Muller, page 42
• Wilkinson, Richard James (1901) “سيلق selak”, in A Malay-English dictionary, Hong Kong: Kelly & Walsh limited, page 585
• Wilkinson, Richard James (1932) “selak”, in A Malay-English dictionary (romanised), volume II, Mytilene, Greece: Salavopoulos & Kinderlis, page 406

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Hindi सलाख (salākh, “iron bar; rod”), from Sanskrit शलाका (śalākā).

Pronunciation

• (Pontianak) IPA^(key): /səlaʔ/
• Rhymes: -aʔ

Noun

selak (Jawi spelling سلق, plural selak-selak, informal 1st possessive selakku, 2nd possessive selakmu, 3rd possessive selaknya)

1. bolt, bar

   selak pintu: crossbar of a door

   selak kunci: latch

Etymology 3

From Javanese ꦱꦼꦭꦏ꧀, ꦱꦼꦊꦏ꧀ (selak, selek, “on the verge of, about to”, literally “to be choking”), from Old Javanese sĕlĕk, slĕk (literally “choke”), probably from Proto-Mon-Khmer *cʔə(ə)ʔ ~ *cʔə(ə)k ~ *cʔak (“to hiccough, belch”) (compare to Khmer ត្អើក (tʼaək, “hiccup”), Vietnamese nấc (“to hiccup”). Doublet of sedak and sedu.

Verb

selak (in the form terselak)

1. (rare) to choke and cough something out

   Synonym: sedak

Etymology 4

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Adjective

selak (Jawi spelling سلق)

1. (Pontianak) greedy

References

• Pijnappel, Jan (1875) “سلق sĕlak”, in Maleisch-Hollandsch woordenboek, John Enschede en Zonen, Frederik Muller, page 110
• Wilkinson, Richard James (1901) “سلق sĕlak”, in A Malay-English dictionary, Hong Kong: Kelly & Walsh limited, page 585
• Wilkinson, Richard James (1932) “sĕlak”, in A Malay-English dictionary (romanised), volume II, Mytilene, Greece: Salavopoulos & Kinderlis, page 406

Further reading

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