celah

Indonesian

Etymology

Inherited from Malay celah, perhaps from Proto-Austronesian *Cəlaq (“crack, split, fissure”) with an irregular sound change from *C to c (instead of the expected *t).

Pronunciation

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /t͡ʃəˈlah/ [t͡ʃəˈlah]
• Rhymes: -ah
• Syllabification: ce‧lah

Noun

celah

1. gap (an opening in anything made by breaking or parting)
2. fissure (a long, narrow crack or opening)

Derived terms

• bercelah
• bercelah-celah
• secelah

References

• Blust, Robert; Trussel, Stephen; et al. (2023) “*Celaq”, in the CLDF dataset from The Austronesian Comparative Dictionary (2010–), →DOI

Malay

Etymology

Perhaps from Proto-Austronesian *Cəlaq (“crack, split, fissure”) with an irregular sound change from *C to c (instead of the expected *t).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /t͡ʃəˈlah/ [t͡ʃəˈlah]
• Rhymes: -lah, -ah
• Hyphenation: ce‧lah

Noun

celah (Jawi spelling چله, plural celah-celah or celah²)

1. gap; slit; crevice; fissure; crack (a narrow opening).

   Synonym: rekah

   Cahaya matahari masuk melalui celah dinding papan itu. ― Sunlight entered through the cracks of the wooden wall.

2. space; interspace (the area between two things).

   Synonyms: sela, ruang

   Dia menyelitkan surat itu di celah buku. ― He slipped the letter in between the pages of the book (the space in the book).

   Kotoran sering melekat di celah gigi. ― Dirt often gets stuck between the teeth.

Derived terms

Affixations

• bercelah (“having gaps; fissured”)
• celahan (“gap; interspace; pass (mountain)”)
• mencelah (“to interrupt; to intervene; to cut in”)
• pencelah (“interrupter”)

Compounds

• celah kangkang (“crotch; groin”)
• celah-celah (“spaces; gaps”)

Further reading

• "celah" in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu (PRPM) [Malay Literary Reference Centre (PRPM)] (in Malay), Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017