mata-mata
English edit
Etymology edit
From Malay mata-mata (“eyes”), plural of mata. Doublet of maka, from Hawaiian.
Noun edit
mata-mata (plural mata-matas)
- (Singapore, Malaysia, slang) A police officer.
Anagrams edit
Indonesian edit
Etymology edit
Inherited from Malay mata-mata, equivalent to Reduplication of mata (“eye”).
Noun edit
mata-mata
Noun edit
mata-mata (plural para mata-mata)
- spy (a person who secretly watches and examines the actions of other individuals or organizations and gathers information on them (usually to gain an advantage))
- Synonyms: pengintai, agen rahasia, intelijen
Usage notes edit
- 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 mata-mata.
Derived terms edit
Affixed terms
Further reading edit
- “mata-mata” 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 edit
Etymology edit
Reduplication of mata (“eye”).
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
mata-mata (Jawi spelling مات٢)
Noun edit
mata-mata (Jawi spelling مات٢, plural banyak mata-mata)
- A police officer.
- A spy.
- Synonyms: ejen rahsia, pengintip, perisik, luluk
Usage notes edit
The word is part of false friends between Standard Malay and Indonesian due to shared etymology. The Indonesian usage can be seen in Indonesian mata-mata.
Descendants edit
- > Indonesian: mata-mata (inherited)
- → English: mata-mata
- → Chinese: 馬打/马打 (mǎdǎ)
- → Thai: หมาต๋า (mǎa-dtǎa)
- →? Vietnamese: mã tà
Further reading edit
- “mata-mata” in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu | Malay Literary Reference Centre, Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017.
- "mata-mata" in Kamus Dewan, Fourth Edition, Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, →ISBN, 2005.
Portuguese edit
Pronounce edit
Etymology 1 edit
Noun edit
mata-mata f (plural mata-matas)
Etymology 2 edit
Noun edit
mata-mata m (plural mata-matas)
- (Brazil, sports) playoff
- (Brazil, sports) knockout, qualifying round, (UK) tie (tournament in which a team or player must beat the opponent in order to progress)
Further reading edit
Categories:
- English terms borrowed from Malay
- English terms derived from Malay
- English doublets
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English multiword terms
- Singapore English
- Malaysian English
- English slang
- Indonesian terms inherited from Malay
- Indonesian terms derived from Malay
- Indonesian reduplications
- Indonesian non-lemma forms
- Indonesian noun plural forms
- Indonesian lemmas
- Indonesian nouns
- Indonesian multiword terms
- Malay reduplications
- Malay terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:Malay/ta
- Rhymes:Malay/a
- Rhymes:Malay/a/4 syllables
- Malay lemmas
- Malay nouns
- Malay uncountable nouns
- Malay multiword terms
- Portuguese 4-syllable words
- Portuguese terms with IPA pronunciation
- Portuguese lemmas
- Portuguese nouns
- Portuguese countable nouns
- Portuguese multiword terms
- Portuguese feminine nouns
- Brazilian Portuguese
- Portuguese nouns with irregular gender
- Portuguese masculine nouns
- pt:Sports