benua

Baba Malay

Etymology

From Malay benua, from Old Malay vanua, from Proto-Malayic *bənua, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *banua, from Proto-Austronesian *banua.

Adjective

benua

1. awed

Indonesian

Etymology

From Malay benua, from Old Malay vanua, from Proto-Malayic *bənua, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *banua, from Proto-Austronesian *banua. Doublet of banua and wanua.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /bəˈnua/ [bəˈnu.a]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -a
• Syllabification: be‧nu‧a

Noun

bênua (plural benua-benua)

1. (geography) continent

   Synonyms: kontinen, tanah raya

2. (archaic) land, country

   Synonyms: kerajaan, negeri, tanah

Related terms

• banua
• kawanua
• wanua

Further reading

• “benua”, 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-Malayic *bənua, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *banua, from Proto-Austronesian *banua. Cognate with Iban menua and Māori whenua.

First attested in the Kedukan Bukit inscription, 683 AD, as Old Malay [script needed] (vanua).

Pronunciation

• (Baku) IPA^(key): /bəˈnwa/ [bəˈnwa]
  • Rhymes: -a
• (schwa-variety) IPA^(key): /bəˈnwə/ [bəˈnwə]
  • Rhymes: -ənwə
• Hyphenation: be‧nua

Noun

benua (Jawi spelling بنوا, plural benua-benua or benua²)

1. (geography) A continent (each of main land-masses on earth's surface).

   Synonym: tanah raya (rare)

   benua Afrika ― the African continent

2. (Classical Malay) A land, state or country.

   Synonyms: tanah, negara, negeri

   benua China ― the country of China

Affixations

• kebenuaan (relating to continents)

Descendants

• > Baba Malay: benua (inherited)
• > Indonesian: benua (inherited)

Further reading

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

Nias

Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *banua (“inhabited land”), from Proto-Austronesian *banua. Doublet of banua.

Noun

benua (mutated form mbenua)

1. fallow (uncultivated land)

References

• Sundermann, Heinrich. 1905. Niassisch-deutsches Wörterbuch. Moers: Bataviaasch Genootschap van Kunsten en Wetenschappen, p. 33.