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

Indonesian

Etymology

Inherited from Malay buai, from Proto-Malayic *buhay, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *buqay, a variant of *bui (“to swing”).

Pronunciation

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /ˈbuai̯/ [ˈbu.ai̯]
• Rhymes: -ai̯
• Syllabification: bu‧ai

Noun

buai

1. swing (the manner in which something is swung)

   Synonyms: buaian, ayunan

Verb

buai (active membuai, passive dibuai)

1. to swing, cradle

Derived terms

• berbuai
• buaian
• pembuai
• pembuaian
• terbuai
• terbuai-buai

Further reading

• “buai”, in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia [Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016

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 (PRPM) [Malay Literary Reference Centre (PRPM)] (in Malay), Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017

Mizo

Etymology

From Proto-Kuki-Chin *buay (“confused”).

Adjective

buai

1. busy
2. confused

Derived terms

• buaipui

Further reading

• Lorrain, J. Herbert (1940), “buai”, in Dictionary of the Lushai language, Calcutta: Asiatic Society

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 i 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)‎, Canberra: Australian National University, →ISBN