birah

Malay

Etymology

From Proto-Malayic *birah, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *biʀaq, from Proto-Austronesian *biʀaq (“wild taro, elephant's ear or itching taro”).

Noun

birah (Jawi spelling بيره, plural birah-birah, informal 1st possessive birahku, 2nd possessive birahmu, 3rd possessive birahnya)

1. Alocasia spp., especially Alocasia macrorrhizos
2. Limahlania crenulata, a species of flowering plant

Derived terms

Affixed terms and other derivations

Irregular affixed derivations, other derivations and compound words:

• birah air (“Aglaonema marantifolium”)
• birah hitam (“Alocasia longiloba”)
• birah kecil (“Typhonium roxburghii”)
• birah keladi (“Colocasia esculenta”)

Descendants

• Indonesian: birah

Adjective

birah (Jawi spelling بيره)

1. (figurative) libidinous, lewd, lustful

Derived terms

Affixed terms and other derivations

Regular affixed derivations:

• kebirahan [abstract / locative] (ke-an)

Further reading

• “birah” in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu | Malay Literary Reference Centre, Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017.