E

This dictionary contains only those words that differ from standard Indonesian, following the lists compiled by Takaria & Pieter (1998), Devin, and Pattiasina, with orthography standardised between the three. Stress tends to be noticeably on the penultimate syllable, which plays a significant part in producing the distinctive Ambon accent. Many words are derived from Indonesian by applying the following substitutions:

• Initial -e, -er syllables in grammatical prefixes become -a

  • berdiri → badiri, terbakar → tabakar

• Final -n, -m modifiers become -ng

  • teman → tamang, asam → asang

• Final -k, -h modifiers are dropped

  • anak → ana, bersih → barsi

• Final -u syllable becomes -o

  • arus → aros, mabuk → mabo

• Initial -e, -er syllables more generally become -a

  • mesin → masing, lentera → lanterna

e   [untranslatable: a particle that goes on the end of a sentence for a softening or smoothing effect**]   interjection

ea   yes   adverb

edarang   a circular (letter)   noun

eis   ice   noun

eja   spell   verb

eja-eja   spelling   verb

ejaang   spelling, orthography   noun

ejek   ridicule   verb

ejek-ejek   banter   noun

ekor bulan   the white-edged lyretail (variola albimarginata)   noun

ekor₁   tail   noun

ekor₂   tail (of), measure word for describing the number of fish, chickens, etc.   measure

eksameng   exam   noun

ela basi   as ela, but the pulp is left for some hours to ferment a little   noun

ela sagu   [see ela]   noun

ela   pulp of the sago-making process that is sqeezed to form flour and juice   noun

elang   reluctant   adjective

eleng₁   fear, respect   verb

eleng₂   envy   verb

elleng   trembling with fear   verb

elmesseh   jesus   noun

embal   a cake or wafer made of cassava that has been grated, pressed, roasted and dried; a stable carb of southeast maluku regency   noun

empang   a line-dance, similar to poco-poco or goyang cha-cha   noun

empeng   thin   adjective

ence   term of address for an indonesian-chinese man   pronoun

encer   liquid   adjective

endandep   a traditional children’s game   noun

enggo basambunyi   hide-and-seek   noun

enggo lari   playing by running about or chasing   verb

enggo sambunyi   [see enggo basambunyi]   noun

enggo₁   traditional children’s game   noun

enggo₂   home base in games involving running   noun

enteng₁   easy   adjective

enteng₂   light, mild   adjective

enternereng   prisoner   noun

ero   bend   verb

eso   tomorrow   noun

eso-lusa   in the coming days, sometime in the future   adverb

ewang₁   dense forest   noun

ewang₂   unused land   noun