Minyak
/ˈmɪn.jæk/noun
A Javanese and wider Malay-world word meaning oil, grease, or an oily substance.
Did you know?In traditional Southeast Asian ritual and healing practices, minyak could refer not only to cooking oil but also to perfumed, medicinal, or consecrated oils used on the body and sacred objects.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Malayo-Polynesian, c. 2000 BCE
PMP
*minyak
“Oil or a fatty substance; the reconstructed ancestral form of the word.”
Old Malay, 7th–14th centuries
Old Malay
minyak
“Oil or grease, including substances used for food, medicine, and ritual purposes.”
Classical Malay, 14th–19th centuries
Malay
minyak
“Oil; the term broadened into compounds for scented, medicinal, and fuel oils.”
Javanese, documented historically
Javanese
lenga / minyak
“Oil or grease; minyak is especially common in modern and colloquial usage, alongside native Javanese forms.”
Modern Indonesian and Malay
Indonesian/Malay
minyak
“Oil, including cooking oil, petroleum, fuel, and various medicinal or cosmetic oils.”
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