belak

Indonesian

Etymology 1

Unknown, probably borrowed from Dutch blaak, blaken (“to scorch, to blaze”), from Middle Dutch blāken, from Old Dutch *blakon, from Proto-West Germanic *blakōn, from Proto-Germanic *blakōną, related to *blaikaz (“white, pale”). (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /bəˈlak/ [bəˈlak̚]
• Rhymes: -ak
• Syllabification: be‧lak

Noun

belak (plural belak-belak)

1. white spot
2. white spots on the skin (due to a disease)
3. black spots on wood (due to the shape of the wood grain)

Derived terms

• putih belak

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Tetum [Term?].

Pronunciation

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /ˈbelak/ [ˈbe.lak̚]
• Rhymes: -elak
• Syllabification: be‧lak

Noun

belak (plural belak-belak)

1. chest jewelry for men in the form of a sun symbol

Etymology 3

Unknown

Pronunciation

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /ˈbelak/ [ˈbe.lak̚]
• Rhymes: -elak
• Syllabification: be‧lak

Verb

belak

1. (Elnama) to pick the fruit using a short piece of wood

Further reading

• “belak”, 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