datuk

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 datu, datung, and ratu.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /ˈdatuʔ/ [ˈda.t̪ʊʔ]
• Rhymes: -atuʔ
• Syllabification: da‧tuk

Noun

datuk (plural datuk-datuk)

1. grandfather

   Synonyms: aki, kakek

2. elder

   Synonym: tetua

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

• atuk
• datu
• datung
• to
• tuk

Derived terms

Affixations

• berdatuk
• datukanda

Compounds

• datuk mahkota alam
• datuk nenek
• datuk poyang
• datuk puan

Further reading

• “datuk”, in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia [Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016

Malay

Alternative forms

• datok (1924-1972, Southern Peninsular Malaysia Standard pronunciation spelling)
• atuk, tuk (apheresis)

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• (Southern Peninsular Malaysia Standard) IPA^(key): /ˈdatok/ [ˈda.t̪oʔ]
  • Rhymes: -atoʔ, -toʔ, -oʔ

• (Literary Standard) IPA^(key): /ˈdatuk/ [ˈda.t̪uʔ]
  • Rhymes: -atuʔ, -tuʔ, -uʔ
• Hyphenation: da‧tuk

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

• datukkan
• didatukkan
• mendatukkan

Compounds

• datuk bandar
• datuk betina
• datuk kayu
• datuk nenek
• rumah datuk

Descendants

• > Indonesian: datuk
• → Hokkien: 拿督

See also

• nenek (“grandmother”)
• Datuk (title)

Further reading

• "datuk" in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu (PRPM) [Malay Literary Reference Centre (PRPM)] (in Malay), Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017
  (also see "datuk" at PRPM first version)
• Blust, Robert; Trussel, Stephen; et al. (2023) “*datu”, in the CLDF dataset from The Austronesian Comparative Dictionary (2010–), →DOI