Roemah
Definition & Context
Noun
A word that functions as the name of a specific object or set of objects, such as living creatures, places, actions, qualities, states of existence, or ideas.
An archaic spelling of the word “rumah” (house/dwelling), referring to a building used as a place of residence, written according to the Van Ophuijsen orthographic system prevalent during the Dutch colonial era.
Synonyms & Variants
gedong
Javanese term for building or house.
hunian
Formal term for residential place or dwelling.
rumah
Old spelling of 'rumah' using the Van Ophuijsen orthography during colonial era.
kediaman
'Kediaman' is a formal synonym of 'roemah' emphasizing the official residential function, commonly used in administrative or formal correspondence contexts.
griya
'Griya' originates from Javanese and Sanskrit meaning house, used in formal or Javanese literary registers. It shares meaning with 'roemah' but carries a strong Javanese cultural nuance.
wisma
'Wisma' is a formal and slightly archaic synonym for 'house', often used in official building names or literary contexts, carrying a nuance parallel to the use of 'roemah' in the colonial era.
Usage Notes or Etymology
The word roemah is the archaic orthographic form of rumah (house) in Malay and Indonesian, written according to the Van Ophuijsen spelling system codified in 1901 by Ch. A. Van Ophuijsen alongside Nawawi Soetan Makmur and Moehammad Taib Soetan Ibrahim. Under this system, the vowel sound /u/ was rendered as “oe”, following Dutch orthographic conventions. This spelling was officially used in government documents, colonial-era newspapers, and Malay-Indonesian literature until it was replaced by the Ejaan Republik (Soewandi Spelling) in 1947. The root word rumah itself traces back to the Austronesian language family, with cognates found across various languages of the Indonesian archipelago.
Real-world Usage
...dan moelai sedikit-dikit kerdjaannja dalem roemah. (Dan mulai sedikit-sedikit pekerjaannya di dalam rumah.)
English Translation
Representative of real-world usage and contextual accuracy.
Verified Evidence1
Boekoe Soerat-Soerat (TH. A. Du Mosch) Boekoe Soerat-Soerat (TH. A. Du Mosch)
ImageliteratureVerify Context
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