English Explanatory Dictionary

lebai

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A very devout person who behaves in a hypocritical manner.
  2. A member of the Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), esp. one who behaves in a hypocritical manner.
  3. A supporter of the Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS)

Word forms

lebai lebais

Etymology

Borrowed from Malay lebai (“someone who knows a lot about religion, a religious expert”). The extended sense of "a supporter or member of PAS" was used by opponents to mock the conservative Islamic party's obsession with religious issues, carried over from Malay-language usage.

This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
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