perawan

Indonesian

Etymology

Inherited from Malay perawan, from Javanese ꦥꦿꦮꦤ꧀ (prawan), further etymology unknown.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /pəˈrawan/ [pəˈra.wan]
• Rhymes: -awan
• Syllabification: pe‧ra‧wan

Noun

pêrawan (plural perawan-perawan or para perawan)

1. maiden, virgin

   Synonyms: dara, gadis

Adjective

pêrawan (comparative lebih perawan, superlative paling perawan)

1. virgin (not having had sexual intercourse)
2. (of a forest, etc.) virgin (not yet cultivated, explored, or exploited by humans)

Derived terms

• diperawani (“ deflowered”)
• diperawankan (“ made virgin”)
• keperawanan (“virginity”)
• memerawani (“to deflower”)

Compounds

• (dialectal) perawan kencur (“teenage girl”)
• (dialectal) perawan sunti (“teenage girl”)
• perawan tua (“spinster; old virgin”)

Further reading

• “perawan”, 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