Page:A dictionary of the Sunda language of Java.djvu/32

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AND ENGLISH.
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Alu-alu, four chĕchéndét of Haramai flax.

Alun, to swim, and at the same time to support some other person or body, as a sinking boat, a loaded raft or the like. The swell of the sea, a wave.

Alun-alun, on open plain or parade ground in front of the dwellings of native official chiefs, or governors of districts, as the Regents, where processions and public ceremonies take place. Two waringin trees are always planted in the centre.

Alur, the beaten path in the forests of wild cattle and Rhinoceroses- a furrow.

Alus, fine in texture or quality, genteel, respectable, clever, cunning.

Ama, father, a refined expression used only when speaking of men of rank.

Amal, ar: pious good works, by which the grace of God is obtained.

Amar, ar: Thing, aflair, business, order, mandate, injunction. Amar allah, the mandate of God.

Amat, very, excessively, Bener amat, very true. Beurat amat, very heavy.

Ambalu, Gum-lac. The ambalu of the Sunda mountains does not give the true gumlac of commerce, which is produced by the Coccus lacca. The Sunda ambalu is nevertheless produced by a small Coccus insect found fastened upon the trees in the same way as books describe the true ambalu of commerce. In Java this ambalu is most frequently found upon the Ficus Procera or Kiara, which in common with all other figs, yields much milky sap, but does not seem to produce the lac which is valuable in commerce. Crawfurd’s Dictionary says the word in Javanese is Tambalu, which would give Tamba C. 222 copper, Baluk or Baluka C. 469, a drug, a perfume, sand, gravel. Thus copper drug, or copper sand. The colours would suggest the copper colour, and the Hindus might have imagined the substance either a drug or formed of sand. Or Tamba-copper, and Luta or Luna, C. 609, a spider, local inflammation produced by the urine or spittle of a spider, from a sort of spider forming the lac. Tamba-luta = Tambalu[1].

Ambar, ar: amnber; ambergris.

Ambar, a small foetus brought forth at full age of nine months, but unnaturally small; this child always dies, and same of them are dried and preserved as talismans or charms for good luck.

  1. Tambalu, does not occur in the Javanese dictionary of Gericke, edited by T. Roorda. Amsterdam 1847; neither exists it in Wilson. 1st edition. Tamba is no Sanscrit; the words given for copper bij the Amara Kosta are: Tâmraka, (in Wilson is also to be found tâmra), çulva, mlechamukha. dvyashta, waristha udumbara. From tamraka is the Javanese-Malay tembaga a corruption, occasioned by the difficult pronounciation of mr. Tamba might be a Ceylonese corruption of tâmra; but it is rather an established fact, that Ceylonese, or Pali words have got no intrance into the Malay and Javanese, but only true Sanscrit ones. The rest of the above derivation will perhaps not be tasted by etymologists, and I restrain from judging about it. Fr.