gawai

Iban

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Malayic *gawa(y), from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *gaway (“religious feast; festivity”). Doublet of gawa.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈɡawai̯]
• Hyphenation: ga‧wai

Noun

gawai

1. festive, celebration

Descendants

• → Malay: gawai (semantic loan)

Indonesian

Etymology

Inherited from Malay gawai, from Proto-Malayic *gawa(y) (cf. Iban gawa), from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *gaway (“religious feast; festivity”). Cognate with Javanese gawé (“work, use, purpose”), Iban gawa,Tagalog gaway (“witchcraft”) and gawa (“work”).

• The sense “work” is a semantic loan from Javanese gawé
• The sense “purpose, use, tool” is a semantic loan from Old Javanese gaway (“work, task, occupation; work, product; feast, celebration; use, purpose”).
• The sense “gadget” is a semantic loan from English gadget. Coined by Indonesian translator Erich Ekoputra.
• The sense “celebration” is a semantic loan from Iban and Kendayan gawai.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /ˈɡawai̯/ [ˈɡa.wai̯]
• Rhymes: -awai̯
• Syllabification: ga‧wai

Noun

gawai (plural gawai-gawai)

1. (electrical engineering) device, gadget (electronics product)

   Synonyms: perangkat, acang

2. (archaic, dialectical) work, job

   Synonyms: kerja, pekerjaan

3. (obsolete) tool, equipment

   Synonyms: alat, peranti, perkakas, radas

4. celebration, particularly of the Gawai Dayak

   Synonyms: gawai dayak, perayaan

Derived terms

• gawaian
• kepegawaian
• pegawai

• gawai dayak
• gawai pintar
• gawai raja
• gawai rawit

• mabuk gawai
• mata gawai
• merenggang gawai
• pengulu gawai
• sandang gawai
• selamat gawai

Descendants

• → Malay: gawai (semantic loan)

Further reading

• “gawai”, 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

Inherited from Proto-Malayic *gawa(y) (cf. Iban gawa), from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *gaway (“religious feast; festivity”). Cognate with Javanese gawé (“work, use, purpose”), Iban gawa,Tagalog gaway (“witchcraft”) and gawa (“work”).

• Sense of “gadget” is a semantic loan from Indonesian gawai.
• Sense of “celebration” is a semantic loan from Iban gawai in Borneo.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈɡawai̯]
• Hyphenation: ga‧wai

Noun

gawai (Jawi spelling ݢاواي, plural gawai-gawai)

1. (archaic) work, job, task

   Synonyms: kerja, pekerjaan

2. (Riau) gadget, tool, equipment.

   Synonyms: alat, peranti, perkakas

3. (Sarawak) celebration, particularly of the Iban harvest festival.

Derived terms

• pegawai

References

• Pijnappel, Jan (1875), “ݢاوي gawei”, in Maleisch-Hollandsch woordenboek, John Enschede en Zonen, Frederik Muller, page 100
• Wilkinson, Richard James (1901), “ݢاوي gawai”, in A Malay-English dictionary, Hong Kong: Kelly & Walsh limited, page 96
• Wilkinson, Richard James (1932), “gawai”, in A Malay-English dictionary (romanised), volume I, Mytilene, Greece: Salavopoulos & Kinderlis, page 332

Further reading

• "gawai" in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu (PRPM) [Malay Literary Reference Centre (PRPM)] (in Malay), Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017
  (also see "gawai" at PRPM first version)