serang

From Persian سرهنگ (sarhang, “commander”).

serang (plural serangs)

1. (India, now historical) A native Indian boatswain; a lascar captain.
   • 2008, Amitav Ghosh, Sea of Poppies, Penguin, published 2015, page 14:

     The discovery that the substance in his mouth was of vegetable origin came as no great reassurance to Zachary: once, when the serang spat a stream of blood-red juice over the rail, he noticed the water below coming alive with the thrashing of shark's fins.

   • 2020, Sujit Sivasundaram, Waves Across the South, William Collins, published 2021, page 161:

     The serang or his deputy could serve as a rebel leader or as a point of protest; there were even times when isolated Europeans joined the rebel cause.

• Agners, Angers, Ganser, Sanger, angers, arengs, granes, ranges, rengas, resang, sanger, snarge

From Malay serang.

• IPA^(key): /səˈraŋ/, [səˈraŋ]
• Hyphenation: sê‧rang

serang

1. to attack
2. (uncommon) to fight

   Synonym: kelahi

From Persian سرهنگ (sarhang, “commander”).

• IPA^(key): [səraŋ]
• Hyphenation: se‧rang

serang (first-person possessive serangku, second-person possessive serangmu, third-person possessive serangnya)

1. boatswain
   1. The officer (or warrant officer) in charge of sails, rigging, anchors, cables etc. and all work on deck of a sailing ship.
   2. The petty officer of a merchant ship who controls the work of other seamen.

   Synonyms: bosun, kepala kelasi, kepala kerja, mandor kapal

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.).

• Hyphenation: se‧rang

serang

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.