batu bara

Indonesian

batu bara

Etymology

Compound of batu (“stone”) +‎ bara (“ember, charcoal”), from calque from Chinese 石炭 (“coal”, literally “rock; stone + charcoal”). Compare to Malay arang batu (“coal”, literally “charcoal + stone”).

Noun

batu bara (first-person possessive batu baraku, second-person possessive batu baramu, third-person possessive batu baranya)

1. coal: a black rock formed from prehistoric plant remains, composed largely of carbon and burned as a fuel.

   Synonym: kol

Alternative forms

• batubara (in mining field)

Synonyms

• arang batu (Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore)

Derived terms

Affixed terms

• pembatubaraan

 

Compounds

• batu bara bitumen
• batu bara muda
• batu bara putih
• batu bara tua

 

Further reading

• “batu bara” 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.