ketua

Indonesian

Etymology

Affixed ke- +‎ tua, inherited from Malay ketua. The sense "chairman" is a semantic loan from Japanese 会長(かいちょう) (kaichō, “chairman”) (compare kaityoo).

Pronunciation

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /kəˈtua/ [kəˈt̪u.a]
• Rhymes: -a
• Syllabification: ke‧tu‧a

Noun

kêtua (plural ketua-ketua)

1. chief, leader, headman

   Synonym: kepala

2. chairman, chairwoman, chairperson

   Synonym: pengerusi (Standard Malay)

Alternative forms

• ketoea (1901–1947)

Derived terms

• ketua kehormatan
• ketua muda
• ketua pelatih
• ketua umum
• ketua wasit

Further reading

• “ketua” 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

Affixation of ke- +‎ tua.

Pronunciation

• (Johor-Riau) IPA^(key): [kə.tu.wə]
  • Rhymes: -uə, -ə
• (Baku) IPA^(key): [kə.tu.wa]
  • Rhymes: -ua, -a
• Hyphenation: ke‧tu‧a

Noun

ketua (Jawi spelling کتوا, plural ketua-ketua)

1. A chief, leader or head man.

   Synonyms: pemimpin, penghulu, tua-tua, kepala

   ketua kampung

   village head

2. The oldest person who possesses an abundance of experience in a village and other places.

Affixations

• berketuakan (“to have as leader”)
• ketuai (“to lead, to be leader for”)
• ketuakan (“to lead; to elect as leader”)
• pengetua (“head teacher; principal”)

Compounds

• guru ketua
• ketua adat
• ketua jurumasak (“chef”)
• ketua kampung
• ketua kerajaan (“head of government”)
• Ketua Menteri (“Chief Minister”)
• ketua muda
• ketua murid
• ketua negara (“head of state”)
• ketua pejabat
• ketua satu

Descendants

• Indonesian: ketua

Further reading

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