tabik

Indonesian

Etymology 1

Inherited from Malay tabik, ultimately from Sanskrit क्षन्तव्य (kṣantavya, “to be pardoned or forgiven”), itself from the root क्षम् (kṣam, “to endure, pardon”) + -तव्य (-tavya, “future passive participle”), with the core semantic first component apparently dropped and only the second grammatical component retained. Compare Minangkabau tabiak, Old Javanese tabe / kṣāntabya, Toba Batak santabi (“pardon”), Tagalog sintabi (“excuse me”).

Pronunciation

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /ˈtabiʔ/ [ˈt̪a.bɪʔ]
• Rhymes: -abiʔ
• Syllabification: ta‧bik

Noun

tabik (plural tabik-tabik)

1. an act of respect; a respectful gesture
2. greeting

   Synonym: salam

Derived terms

• bersitabik
• menabik

Interjection

tabik

1. (dialectal, uncommon) Greetings!; Hello!

   Synonyms: salam, halo

2. excuse me (to politely ask permission or show respect when visiting certain sacred places)

   Near-synonym: permisi

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Arabic تَابِع (tābiʕ).

Pronunciation

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /ˈtabiʔ/ [ˈt̪a.bɪʔ]
• Rhymes: -abiʔ
• Syllabification: ta‧bik

Noun

tabik (plural tabik-tabik)

1. (used only in Islam contexts) a follower

   Synonyms: pengikut, penganut

Further reading

• “tabik” 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.