lebai
English edit
Etymology edit
Borrowed from Malay lebai (“someone who knows a lot about religion, a religious expert”).
The extended sense of "a supporter or member of PAS" was used by opponents to mock the conservative Islamic party's obsession with religious issues, carried over from Malay-language usage.
Noun edit
lebai (plural lebais)
- (Malaysia, derogatory, slang, Islam, religion) a very devout person who behaves in a hypocritical manner.
- (Malaysia, derogatory, politics, Internet slang) a member of PAS, a Malaysian conservative Islamist party, especially one who behaves in a hypocritical manner.
- (Malaysia, derogatory, politics, Internet slang, by extension) a supporter of PAS.
Indonesian edit
Alternative forms edit
Pronunciation edit
Etymology 1 edit
From Malay lebai, from Classical Malay لباي (lĕbai), from Tamil லப்பை (lappai), a name of a trading community.[1]
Noun edit
lêbai (plural lebai-lebai, first-person possessive lebaiku, second-person possessive lebaimu, third-person possessive lebainya)
- (Islam, religion) mosque official
- (Islam, religion) village official in charge of Muslim religious affairs
- registrar; keeper of records
Derived terms edit
Etymology 2 edit
Possibly from lebih.
Alternative forms edit
- lebay (nonstandard)
lêbai
- (colloquial) overdone, corny
- Orang itu lebai sekali
- That guy is so corny.
References edit
- ^ Jones, Russell. 2008. Loan-words in Indonesian and Malay. Jakarta: Yayasan Obor Indonesia.
Further reading edit
- “lebai” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation — Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic Indonesia, 2016.
Malay edit
Etymology edit
From Tamil லப்பை (lappai), a name of a trading community.[1] The Tamil word originally meant "here I am", as a term of address for people who converted to Islam. See Labbay for more information.
The extended sense of "a supporter or member of PAS" was used by opponents to mock the conservative Islamic party's obsession with religious issues.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
lebai (Jawi spelling لباي, plural lebai-lebai, informal 1st possessive lebaiku, 2nd possessive lebaimu, 3rd possessive lebainya)
- (Islam, religion) one who knows a lot about religion; a religious expert.
- (Islam, religion) a very devout person who practices his religion.
- (slang, derogatory) someone who forces people to follow a more conservative attitude, a know-it-all.
- (derogatory, politics, Internet slang) a member of PAS, a Malaysian conservative Islamist party, especially one who behaves in a hypocritical manner.
- (derogatory, politics, Internet slang, by extension) a supporter of PAS.
- 2021, Utusan[1]
- Masyarakat tidak sepatutnya lagi menggelar Pas sebagai sebuah parti ‘tok lebai’ dan Pilihan Raya Negeri (PRN) Melaka akan membuktikan bahawa tanggapan itu salah.
- The community should no longer call the PAS Party as a party of "know-it-alls", and the State Election of Melaka will prove that notion wrong.
Derived terms edit
Regular affixed derivations:
Irregular affixed derivations, other derivations and compound words:
- lebai ketayap (“a person who outwardly practices religion but is a hypocrite”)
- lebai malang (“a very vain person”)
- tok lebai (“a religious elder”)
Descendants edit
References edit
- ^ Jones, Russell. 2008. Loan-words in Indonesian and Malay. Jakarta: Yayasan Obor Indonesia.
Further reading edit
- “lebai” in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu | Malay Literary Reference Centre, Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017.