matmat

See also: mất mát and mất mặt

Maia

Noun

matmat

1. graveyard

Samoan Plantation Pidgin

Etymology

From Tolai or Ramoaaina matmat (“the dead”), considered by Mosel to have been coined by missionaries.

Noun

matmat

1. cemetery

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
• Peter, Mühlhäusler (1983), “Samoan Plantation Pidgin English and the origin of New Guinea Pidgin”, in Ellen Woolford and William Washabaugh, editors, The Social Context of Creolization, Ann Arbor: Karoma, pages 28-76

Tok Pisin

Etymology

From Tolai or Ramoaaina matmat (“the dead”), considered by Mosel to have been coined by missionaries. Compare Fijian mate (“dead”), Malay mati (“death”).

Noun

matmat

1. cemetery

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
• Peter, Mühlhäusler (1983), “Samoan Plantation Pidgin English and the origin of New Guinea Pidgin”, in Ellen Woolford and William Washabaugh, editors, The Social Context of Creolization, Ann Arbor: Karoma, pages 28-76