W

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

wa’a   hard outer shell surrounding the pulp of a sago tree   noun

wae   [see wai]   noun

wai   water   noun

wajang   [see tacu]   noun

waji   a cake made of glutinous rice, palm sugar and coconut milk, the indonesian wajik   noun

walanda   the netherlands   noun

walang   a small forest shelter made to guard a plantation   noun

wale   a traditional greeting among the people of allang   interjection

walerang   sulphur   noun

wandarmars   hike   verb

wange   fragrant   adjective

wango-wango   firewood for a walang   noun

wanteks   dye   noun

war   able to, capable of   verb

warangang   to smell bad   verb

wari-wari   not keep one’s promise   verb

waringing   [see baringing]   noun

warmos   use up recklessly   verb

warmus   [see warmos]   noun

wate₁   term of address for a sister’s husband   noun

wate₂   term of address for a father’s older sister’s husband   noun

wate₂   term of address for older men of the same soa or of a pela village   noun

watu   moment   noun

waya   bamboo fish grill or smoking rack   noun

wayar anging   cooling fan   noun

wayar   propeller   noun

wengga-wanggi   aimlessly, without a certain aim or destination   adverb

wer₁   face   noun

wer₂   weather   noun

wet   law   noun

wonge   noisy   adjective

wongo-wongo   piles of firewood burned outside at night to keep warm   noun

wosi   smell of urine   adjective

wotu₁   go to a house in the mountains   verb

wotu₂   return to the surface after diving   verb