semalam

Iban

Etymology

Combination of se- (“one”) +‎ malam (“night”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /səmalam/

Noun

semalam

1. a night

Indonesian

Alternative forms

• semalem (informal)

Etymology

Affixation of se- +‎ malam.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /səˈma.lam/
• Hyphenation: sê‧ma‧lam

Noun

semalam (plural semalam-semalam)

1. (literally) a night

   Synonym: satu malam

2. last night

   Synonym: tadi malam

3. all-night

   Synonym: semalaman

4. (rare) yesterday

   Synonym: kemarin

Adverb

semalam

1. last night

Further reading

• “semalam”, 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

Affixation of se- (“one”) +‎ malam (“night”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /səˈmalam/ [səˈma.lam]

  Rhymes: -əmalam, -alam, -am

• Hyphenation: se‧ma‧lam

Adverb

semalam (Jawi spelling سمالم)

1. for one night

   Synonym: semalaman

   Atap bilik Setoh habis kena tebuk, terpaksalah dia tumpang rumah aku semalam.

   Setoh's room's roof got holed bad, so he had to stay in my house for one night.

2. for the entirety of the night
3. (Peninsular West Coast) yesterday

   Synonym: (other dialects) kelmarin

   Antonyms: esok, besok

4. (other dialects) last night

   Synonyms: malam semalam, malam lepas

Related terms

• kelmarin dulu (“the day before yesterday”)

Descendants

• Indonesian: semalam

Further reading

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