datuk

Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word datuk. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word datuk, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say datuk in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word datuk you have here. The definition of the word datuk will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofdatuk, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.

Indonesian

Etymology

Inherited from Malay datuk, from Proto-Malayic *datuʔ (“head of a clan, elderly leader”), from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *datu, from Proto-Austronesian *datu. Doublet of ratu.

Pronunciation

Noun

datuk (plural datuk-datuk)

  1. grandfather
    Synonyms: aki, kakek
  2. elder
  3. title for elder
  4. (dialect, Minangkabau) traditional chief
    Synonyms: kepala adat, penghulu adat
  5. (dialect, Minangkabau) genie, jinn
    Synonyms: jin, toapekong
  6. (dialect, obsolete) synonym of harimau (“tiger”)

Alternative forms

Derived terms

Further reading

Malay

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *datu, from Proto-Austronesian *datu. Doublet of datu, datung, and ratu.

Pronunciation

Noun

datuk (Jawi spelling داتوق, plural datuk-datuk)

  1. A father of someone's parent; a grandfather.
  2. A form of address to one's grandfather or someone of a similar age.
  3. A form of address to someone who possesses the title of Datuk.
  4. (archaic) A form of address to a police officer or by a police officer to their superior.
  5. A type of ghost.
    Synonyms: puaka, penunggu
  6. (Chinese folk religion) An idol.
    Synonyms: berhala, topekong, dewa
  7. (informal) A form of address to tigers.
    Datuk harimau ― Mr tiger
  8. (by extension) elder
  9. title for elder

Derived terms

Affixations
Compounds

Descendants

  • Indonesian: datuk
  • → Hokkien: 拿督

See also

Further reading

  • “datuk” in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu | Malay Literary Reference Centre, Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017.
  • Blust, Robert; Trussel, Stephen; et al. (2023) “*datu”, in the CLDF dataset from The Austronesian Comparative Dictionary (2010–), →DOI
Wikious
Boobota
Sagapedia