Tjatjar
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.
A highly contagious disease caused by the “variola virus”, characterized by high fever and fluid-filled pustular rashes across the skin surface. This spelling reflects the Van Ophuijsen orthographic system used in the Dutch colonial era before 1947.
Synonyms & Variants
cacar
A contagious disease caused by the variola virus characterized by fever and skin rash.
cacar air
Semantically related as a variant of the same disease category, though caused by a different virus medically.
tjatjar
Old spelling for the smallpox disease used before 1947.
variola
Used in formal medical and scientific contexts as the official designation of this disease.
smallpox
Used in official Dutch colonial government documents written in English or in international medical contexts.
pokken
Derived from the Dutch `pokken`, frequently appearing in colonial administrative documents and health reports.
Usage Notes or Etymology
The word tjatjar is the archaic spelling of the modern Indonesian word cacar, written according to the Van Ophuijsen orthographic system officially used during the Dutch colonial period until 1947. Under this system, the /c/ sound was rendered as tj, transforming cacar into tjatjar. With the introduction of the Soewandi or Republican Spelling in 1947, many transitional texts continued using similar conventions before the word was fully standardized as cacar under the Perfected Spelling (EYD) in 1972. Smallpox was a serious epidemic in the Dutch East Indies, making the role of the “manteri tjatjar” (smallpox vaccination officer) a significant public health position in colonial and early post-colonial society. Today, this spelling is considered archaic and appears exclusively in literary texts, colonial-era newspapers, and historical documents from the tempo doeloe period.
Real-world Usage
Manteri tjatjar itoe soedah bekerja keras memvaksinasi pendoedoek kampoeng. (Mantri cacar itu sudah bekerja keras memvaksinasi penduduk kampung.)
English Translation
Representative of real-world usage and contextual accuracy.
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