selak

From English shellac, from shell +‎ lac, calque translation of French laque (“lac”) + en (“in”) + écailles (“scales, shells”).

• Hyphenation: se‧lak

selak

1. shellac; a processed secretion of the lac insect, Coccus lacca; used in polishes, varnishes etc.
2. (by extension) varnishing; an application of varnish

For quotations using this term, see Citations:selak.

Inherited from Malay selak, from Classical Malay sila, from Sanskrit शील (śīla, “conduct, beauty, form, virtue”). Doublet of sila.

• IPA^(key): /ˈse.lak/
• Rhymes: -lak, -ak, -k
• Hyphenation: se‧lak

selak (base, imperative & colloquial selak, active menyelak, ordinary passive diselak, adversative passive terselak)

1. to open

   Synonyms: buka, singkap

Inherited from Malay selak borrowed from Hindi सलाख (salākh, “iron bar; rod”), from Sanskrit शलाका (śalākā).

• IPA^(key): /sə.ˈlak/
• Rhymes: -lak, -ak, -k
• Hyphenation: sê‧lak

sêlak (plural selak-selak)

1. bar, bolt

Borrowed from Betawi selek, from Javanese ꦱꦼꦭꦏ꧀, ꦱꦼꦊꦏ꧀ (, selek, “on the verge of, about to”, literally “to be choking”), from Old Javanese sĕlĕk, slĕk (literally “choke”), probably from Proto-Mon-Khmer *cʔə(ə)ʔ ~ *cʔə(ə)k ~ *cʔak (“to hiccough, belch”) (compare to Khmer ត្អើក (tʼaək, “hiccup”), Vietnamese nấc (“to hiccup”).

• IPA^(key): /sə.ˈlak/
• Rhymes: -lak, -ak, -k
• Hyphenation: sê‧lak

sêlak (base, imperative & colloquial selak, active menyelak, ordinary passive diselak, adversative passive terselak)

1. to jump (the queue)

   Synonym: menyelip

2. to haste

   Synonyms: mendesak, membangatkan, menggesa-gesakan

3. (dialect) to be choked: having been unable to breathe due to airway obstruction (choking) or strangulation, but usually to the point of pain and discomfort without death

   Synonym: tersedak

• “selak” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

Variant of silak from Sanskrit शील (śīla, “conduct, beauty, form, virtue”). Doublet of sila. (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

• IPA^(key): /ˈse.laʔ/

selak (Jawi spelling سيلق)

1. to open, to uncover, to pull up (of fabric, curtains)

   Synonyms: buka, singkap, angkat, tarik

2. to flick the pages of a book, to scroll or swipe on a phone's touchscreen

• Pijnappel, Jan (1875) “سيلق silak”, in Maleisch-Hollandsch woordenboek, John Enschede en Zonen, Frederik Muller, page 42
• Wilkinson, Richard James (1901) “سيلق selak”, in A Malay-English dictionary, Hong Kong: Kelly & Walsh limited, page 585
• Wilkinson, Richard James (1932) “selak”, in A Malay-English dictionary (romanised), volume II, Mytilene, Greece: Salavopoulos & Kinderlis, page 406

Borrowed from Hindi सलाख (salākh, “iron bar; rod”), from Sanskrit शलाका (śalākā).

• (Pontianak) IPA^(key): /səlaʔ/
• Rhymes: -aʔ

selak (Jawi spelling سلق, plural selak-selak)

1. bolt, bar

   selak pintu: crossbar of a door

   selak kunci: latch

From Javanese ꦱꦼꦭꦏ꧀, ꦱꦼꦊꦏ꧀ (, selek, “on the verge of, about to”, literally “to be choking”), from Old Javanese sĕlĕk, slĕk (literally “choke”), probably from Proto-Mon-Khmer *cʔə(ə)ʔ ~ *cʔə(ə)k ~ *cʔak (“to hiccough, belch”) (compare to Khmer ត្អើក (tʼaək, “hiccup”), Vietnamese nấc (“to hiccup”). Doublet of sedak and sedu.

selak (in the form terselak)

1. (rare) to choke and cough something out

   Synonym: sedak

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

selak (Jawi spelling سلق)

1. (Pontianak) greedy

• Pijnappel, Jan (1875) “سلق sĕlak”, in Maleisch-Hollandsch woordenboek, John Enschede en Zonen, Frederik Muller, page 110
• Wilkinson, Richard James (1901) “سلق sĕlak”, in A Malay-English dictionary, Hong Kong: Kelly & Walsh limited, page 585
• Wilkinson, Richard James (1932) “sĕlak”, in A Malay-English dictionary (romanised), volume II, Mytilene, Greece: Salavopoulos & Kinderlis, page 406

• “selak” in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu | Malay Literary Reference Centre, Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017.