buai

Iban

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /buai̯/

Verb

buai

1. to throw away; discard

   Buai uras nya

   Throw these rubbish away

2. to waste (time)

   Jam dibuai iya beganjuh kia-kia.

   He is wasting time loafing about here and there.

3. (mathematics) subtract, deduct, remove, minus

   Synonym: tulak

   Antonym: tambah

   Buai 4 ari 5 ― 5 is subtracted from 4

Malay

Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *buqay, a variant of *bui (“to swing”). Cognate with Binukid buay (“to swing back and forth”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /buai̯/
• Rhymes: -uai̯, -ai̯

Verb

buai (Jawi spelling بواي‎)

1. to swing
2. to sway

Derived terms

Affixed terms and other derivations

Regular affixed derivations:

• buaian [resultative / locative / collective / variety / verbal noun / fruit] (-an)
• buaikan [causative benefactive] (-kan)
• membuai [agent focus] (meN-)
• membuaikan [agent focus + causative benefactive] (meN- + -kan)
• dibuai [patient focus] (di-)
• terbuai [agentless action] (teR-)
• terbuai-buai [reduplication + agentless action] (redup + teR-)
• berbuai [stative / habitual] (beR-)
• berbuai-buai [reduplication + stative / habitual] (redup + beR-)

Descendants

• Indonesian: buai

Further reading

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

Tok Pisin

Etymology

From Tolai (or a closely related language, like Label) buai.

Noun

buai

1. areca; betel nut

   Noken kaikai buai long smolhaus. Buai pekpek stap tumas doti.

   No chewing betelnut in the restroom. The spit from betelnut is very dirty.

See also

• daka
• limbum

References

• Mosel, Ulrike (1980) Tolai and Tok Pisin: the influence of the substratum on the development of New Guinea Pidgin (Pacific Linguistics; Series B, no. 73)‎^[1], Canberra: Australian National University, →ISBN