pejabat

Indonesian

Etymology

Affixed per- +‎ jabat, inherited from Malay pejabat. Attested before 1953.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pəd͡ʒabat/
• Hyphenation: pê‧ja‧bat

Noun

pejabat (first-person possessive pejabatku, second-person possessive pejabatmu, third-person possessive pejabatnya)

1. official, an office holder invested with powers and authorities.
2. (Can we verify⁽⁺⁾ this sense?) (archaic) office, a room, set of rooms, or building used for non-manual work.

Usage notes

The word is part of false friends between Standard Malay and Indonesian due to shared etymology. The Brunei, Malaysia and Singapore usage can be seen in Malay pejabat.

Synonyms

• (official): pegawai (Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore)
• (office): kantor, markas, jawatan

See also

• kantor (“office”)

Further reading

• “pejabat” 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

pe- +‎ jabat. Coined by the Pakatan Belajar Mengajar Pengetahuan Bahasa in Johore late 19th century with intention to replace English loanword opis; first attested in the Buku Katan published in 1936 by the same institution.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pəd͡ʒabat/
• Hyphenation: pê‧ja‧bat
• Rhymes: -at

Noun

pejabat (Jawi spelling ڤجابت, plural pejabat-pejabat, informal 1st possessive pejabatku, 2nd possessive pejabatmu, 3rd possessive pejabatnya)

1. office

Usage notes

The word is part of false friends between Standard Malay and Indonesian due to shared etymology. The Indonesian usage can be seen in Indonesian pejabat.

Synonyms

• (office): kantor (Indonesia)

Further reading

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