indonesian

indonesian — adjective

IPA/ˌɪn.dəˈniː.ʒən/
KK[ˌɪndonˈiʒən]IPA/ˌɪn.dəˈniː.ʒən/
  • indonesianpositive
  • more indonesiancomparative
  • most indonesiansuperlative

1. relating to the country of Indonesia, the people who live there, or the language

1.adjectiveA1
Definition

relating to the country of Indonesia, the people who live there, or the language they speak

Example

Saira brought back some Indonesian coffee beans from her trip to Bali.

collocation: Indonesian [product/noun]

The restaurant on the corner serves delicious Indonesian food.

collocation: Indonesian food/cuisine

Common collocations
  • Indonesian food
  • Indonesian culture
  • Indonesian language
  • Indonesian government
  • Indonesian islands

Usage Note

Placed before the noun it describes, as in 'Indonesian culture' or 'Indonesian students'.

indonesian — noun

IPA/ˌɪn.dəˈniː.ʒən/
KK[ˌɪndonˈiʒən]IPA/ˌɪn.dəˈniː.ʒən/

indonesian — noun / adjective

IPA/ˌɪndəˈniːʒn/
KK[ˌɪndonˈiʒən]IPA/ˌɪndəˈniːʒn/

Word family

  • Indonesia
    proper nounA1
  • Indonesianize
    verbC1
  • Indonesianist
    nounC2
  • Indo-
    prefixB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Indonesian describes anything connected to the modern nation of Indonesia as a whole, while Javanese and Balinese refer specifically to the cultures, languages, or people of the islands of Java and Bali respectively — a Javanese person is always Indonesian, but an Indonesian person may be from any of the country's hundreds of ethnic groups. Bahasa Indonesia (often shortened to Indonesian in English) is the formal name of the national language, used mostly when distinguishing it from local languages like Javanese or Sundanese.

JavaneseBalineseBahasa Indonesia

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • Indonesian government
  • Indonesian culture
  • Indonesian cuisine
  • Indonesian food
  • Indonesian language
  • speak Indonesian
  • learn Indonesian
  • study Indonesian
  • Indonesian archipelago
  • Indonesian islands

Etymology

GreekLatinEnglish

The word Indonesian was formed by adding the suffix -an (from Latin -ānus, meaning 'belonging to') to the place name Indonesia. Indonesia itself was coined in the mid-1800s from Greek 'Indos' (the Indus River, later extended to the Indian subcontinent) and 'nēsos' (island), literally meaning 'Indian islands'. The combined term entered English in the 1850s as European geographers and travellers began describing the Malay Archipelago as a single region.