adjectival or participial force; adding an agent to an act, a verb to a subject (§ 38 note; §47). It is quite possible that substantival forms like měntua, měrlimau are abbreviations of orang mĕntua, buah mĕrlimau: in the Bodleian Sri Rama (early seventeenth century) rumah měrděrma occurs for almshouse.
b is an Indonesian prefix widely spread in the language group and is said to form intransitive verbs, e.g. běli buy from root ěli, bělah to split from ělah. Less widely found in the family, b occurs like m as an adjectival prefix.
In modern Malay it occurs mostly as bě(r), a prefix that may best be described as denoting reflexivity, reciprocity, addition, and possession. It would probably be safer to define the Indonesian b as having the same general functions rather than to define it as a formative of active or intransitive verbs.
p serves everywhere as a causal prefix. Examples of its verbal use in Malay are pantul (also antul) cause to rebound, pěngap (also ngap) to make a pant, to pant; and to form a substantive, pangkat promotion, rank from angkat raise, be raised. Professor Kern identifies it with the essential part of apa something.[1] In modern Malay it figures as pě, pĕ + nasal, pěr + r (or l) (§§ 54-6).
k, which is probably the preposition ka signifying place whither and so state into which, is a prefix common to the Indonesian family and has a passive nuance, forming especially verbal adjectives and abstract nouns. It is also employed with numerals and e.g. in kini now as formative for adverbs. of time. In modern Malay (§ 57) it is used with numerals; forms many abstract nouns with the help of the suffix an; and survives in a few stereotyped words to which may be added kapit supporters of a bridegroom from apit press on either
- ↑ Mr. Blagden tells me that in Talaing pa = to do, to make. In view of Schmidt's synthesis, this seems worth recording.
