sengkang

Central Sama

Verb

sengkang

1. To sit with legs spread apart.

Malay

Etymology 1

From nasalization of sakang from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *sakaŋ “bow-legged”.

Verb

sengkang (Jawi spelling سڠکڠ)

1. to hold apart or astretch
2. to prop something up preventing it from closing
   1. to muzzle one's mouth by stuffing an object in

Noun

sengkang (Jawi spelling سڠکڠ, plural sengkang-sengkang or sengkang²)

1. crossbar, crossbeam
2. thwart (of a boat)

   Synonym: sengkar

3. base to put tholes on the side of boats as placement for oars
4. (obsolete) diameter

   Synonym: garis pusat

5. (obsolete) cross

   sengkang bajang: Maltese cross (lit. 'long-clawed/tailed cross')

   Synonyms: palang, salib

6. dash, hyphen; also ellipsis of tanda sengkang

   Synonyms: sempang, tanda sempang

References

• Pijnappel, Jan (1875), “سڠکڠ sĕngkang”, in Maleisch-Hollandsch woordenboek, John Enschede en Zonen, Frederik Muller, page 24
• Wilkinson, Richard James (1901), “سڠکڠ sĕngkang”, in A Malay-English dictionary, Hong Kong: Kelly & Walsh limited, page 420
• Wilkinson, Richard James (1932), “sĕngkang”, in A Malay-English dictionary (romanised), volume II, Mytilene, Greece: Salavopoulos & Kinderlis, page 436

Etymology 2

Same as above, with likely free vowel variation from /səŋkaŋ/ > /seŋkaŋ/.

Verb

menyengkang

1. to stand or walk with legs athwart

Etymology 3

From Etymology 2, both ultimately from Etymology 1.

Adjective

sengkang (Jawi spelling سيڠکڠ, comparative lebih sengkang, superlative paling sengkang)

1. to be short on one foot

Verb

menyengkang

1. to be uneven in walking

References

• Wilkinson, Richard James (1901), “سڠکڠ sengkang”, in A Malay-English dictionary, Hong Kong: Kelly & Walsh limited, page 386
• Wilkinson, Richard James (1932), “sengkang”, in A Malay-English dictionary (romanised), volume II, Mytilene, Greece: Salavopoulos & Kinderlis, page 436

Further reading

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