Serani

Betawi

Etymology

From Arabic نَصْرَانِيّ (naṣrāniyy).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sərani/, [sə.raˈni]
• Rhymes: -i
• Hyphenation: Se‧ra‧ni

Proper noun

Serani (Arab Gundul spelling سراني)

1. Christianity

   Synonyms: Nasrani, Kerèsten, Krèsten

2. Christian
3. (archaic) Indo people
4. (dated) Tugunese people (the descendants of mostly-Christian Mardijker people)

   Synonym: Tugu

Derived terms

Compounds

• aèr serani
• pindang serani

Indonesian

Etymology

From Malay Nasrani, from Arabic نصراني (naṣrāniyy, “Christian”).

Pronunciation

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /səˈrani/ [səˈra.ni]
• Rhymes: -ani
• Syllabification: Se‧ra‧ni

Noun

Serani (plural Serani-Serani)

1. (archaic) Christian: a believer in Christianity; a person who seeks to live his or her life according to the principles and values taught by Jesus Christ

   Synonyms: Nasrani, Kristen

2. (archaic) Indo people
3. (archaic) Portuguese people

Derived terms

• menyeranikan
• penyeranian

Descendants

• → Hokkien: 色仔哖 (sek-á-nî)

Further reading

• “Serani”, 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

Borrowed from Arabic نصراني (naṣrāniyy, “Christian”). Doublet of Nasrani.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /səˈrani/ [səˈra.ni]
• Rhymes: -ni, -i
• Hyphenation: Se‧ra‧ni

Proper noun

Serani (Jawi spelling سراني)

1. Christianity.

   Synonyms: Kristian, Nasrani

2. Kristang (ethnic group).
3. (obsolete) Portuguese (ethnic group).

Affixations

• keseranian
• penyeranian
• seranikan

Compounds

• air Serani (“baptism water”)
• masuk Serani (“to convert to Christianity”)
• orang Serani (“Christian; Kristang person”)

Further reading

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