Palauan Language Online: Palauan-English Dictionary

rubak

, n.

elder; old man; chief; foreign man; boyfriend; husband.

rubak

a

chuodel

el

sechal;

telechull

a

kebekuul

a

rubak;

ngeasek

e

telechull

a

dui

a

rubak.

rubekngek

n.poss.1s

rubekngem

n.poss.2s

rubekngel
/rubekengel

n.poss.3s

rubekengel

a

rubak

er

ngii.

rubekngam

n.poss.1pe

rubeknged

n.poss.1pi

rubekngiu

n.poss.2p

rubekngir

n.poss.3p

bekerubak

v.s.

smell like an old man.

rubak

v.s.

having the qualities of an old man.

rubak

a

chuodel

el

sechal;

telechull

a

kebekuul

a

rubak;

ngeasek

e

telechull

a

dui

a

rubak.

rubekngang

v.s.inch.

becoming an old man.

demal el rubak

expr.

(someone's) grandfather.

rubak er kemam

expr.

husband of one of my relatives; father-in-law.

rubak er ngak

expr.

my boyfriend or husband.

See also:

OURUBAK

,

RUBEKUL

Examples:

Tirka

el

chad

a

mla

remenges

el

kmo

kau,

e

Rubak,

a

obengkemam.

> These people have already heard that you, Lord, are with us.

Ng

locha

bekord

el

tela

a

rekil

a

rubak.

> I wonder what the approximate age of the old man may be.

Ngke

el

rubak

a

kmal

chad

er

a

chei.

> That old man goes fishing often./That old man is quite a fisherman.

A

Rubak

a

diak

di

lemereched

el

ngmasech

a

rengul.

> The Lord does not easily become angry.

A

rubak

a

dirk

ngar.

> The old man is still alive.

Proverbs:

Ke

ko

er

a

rubak

er

a

Ngerechelong

el

omtab

er

a

bngel

er

a

eabed.

> You're like the old man of Ngerechelong who uses a cloud to mark the location of his fishtrap.

i.e. you depend too much on people who are unreliable.

Ng

ko

er

a

rrut

rubak.

> Like the running elder.

Elders do not run fast, but they can run for great distances. Young men can sprint, but have little endurance. Hence, a person with enduring persistence.

More Examples:

Ngka

el

rubak

er

ngak

a

kmal

meduch

el

ngar

er

a

chei.

> My boyfriend is really good in fishing.

Tirka

el

ngelekel

ngka

el

rubak

a

soadel

er

a

cheldecheduch.

> These old man's kids will be talked about at the conference next month.

A

rubak

a

mle

belsibs

a

dingerir.

> Old men had their ears pierced.

Ngka

el

rubak

a

di

mle

siesorech

e

mad.

> This old man stayed stiff and contorted as he died.

A

rubak

me

a

remekekeriei

el

chad

er

a

ngar

er

a

mong

a

di

ulusaker.

> Men, young and old wore loin clothes.

bai
/abai

,

/uploads/pics/2979.jpg, n.

village meeting house; guest house; community house.

bai

a

ongdboll;

tbiil

a

llach

er

ngii;

bai

er

a

klobak;

a

bai

a

ongdboll

er

a

beluu,

orekuul,

blil

a

kldibel,

bailbeluu;

bai

er

a

remeau;

oremuul,

bai

er

a

rengeasek,

merael

a

kakerous

el

omeruul

er

a

chelsel

a

ngellakel

me

a

sius,

me

a

klautok

me

a

ngloik

er

a

chesel.

bil

n.poss.3s

bai er a rubak

expr.

bai for old men only.

kebtot el bai

expr.

twin bai; two bais adjacent to each other.

See also:

BAIBELUU

Examples:

Kede

bai

mo

odngelii

er

a

kebesengei?

> Shall we visit her tonight?

Ng

bai

soak

a

kohi

er

a

tii.

> I like coffee more than tea.

Proverbs:

Ng

ko

er

a

ngklel

a

bai

er

a

Chol:

a

Medederiik

> Like the name of the bai at Chol: "Empty."

A bai in the northern community of Chol is (or once was) called Medederiik, meaning "deserted" or "empty." The idiom may apply to a person without possessions, a poor man.

Ng

ko

er

a

ngklel

a

bai

er

a

Ngerekabesang:

a

Telkakl

> Like the name of the community house at Ngerekabesang: "Buttressed."

At Ngerekabesang in Koror (central Palau) there is a community house (bai) called Telkakl, which means "to buttress" or "to be buttressed." Some of the older bai in Palau were thus supported with beams from the ground to the eaves, and the implication has been added that a bai so supported must be very full of important possessions. This idiom is used of a person who is wealthy, or of one's self, meaning that one has cash on hand.

Ke

ko

er

a

bisech

er

a

bai

el

dechor

er

a

rebai

e

diak

dousbech

er

ngii.

> You're like the bisech plant in the backyard which has no purpose.

A person who isn't trusted so he/she is not needed.

Ngalek

a

bai.

> Child of the clubhouse.

In former times, when Palauan women would sometimes serve as companions to the men of clubs in villages other than their own, a woman occasionally became pregnant. While pregnancy during this service, or as a result of it, was considered bad form, a child so conceived was not considered "illegitimate" but was differentiated in degree by this idiom.

More Examples:

Ak

bai

mlo

er

a

chei

ngak

me

a

demak

er