biara

Indonesian

Etymology

From Malay biara (“monastery”), from Old Malay vihāra (“monastery”), from Sanskrit विहार (vihāra, “monastery, academy”). Doublet of wihara.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bi.a.ra/
• Hyphenation: bi‧a‧ra

Noun

biara

1. monastery: a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits).
   1. (Christianity) monastery

Usage notes

This word (biara) is used for non-Buddhist monastery in Indonesian, especially the Christian one. For the Buddhist monastery, wihara, which is the cognate and loanword from Javanese, is used instead in Indonesian. This is different from Malay biara which used for all meaning of monastery.

Derived terms

• biarawan
• biarawati

Related terms

• wihara

Further reading

• “biara” 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.

Malay

Etymology

From Sanskrit विहार (vihāra).

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -a

Noun

biara (Jawi spelling بيارا, plural biara-biara, informal 1st possessive biaraku, 2nd possessive biaramu, 3rd possessive biaranya)

1. monastery

Usage notes

Unlike in Malay, Indonesian biara has developed specialised meaning.