Javanese

American  

[jav-uh-neez, -nees, jah-vuh-] / ˌdʒæv əˈniz, -ˈnis, ˌdʒɑ və- /

adjective

1. of or relating to the island of Java, its people, or their language.

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noun

1. a member of the native Malayan people of Java, especially of that branch of it in the central part of the island.

2. the Austronesian language of central Java.

Javanese British  

/ ˌdʒɑːvəˈniːz /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of Java, its people, or the Javanese language

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noun

1. a native or inhabitant of Java

2. a Malayo-Polynesian language of Central and Eastern Java

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• Javanese
  plural

Etymology

Origin of Javanese

1695–1705; Javan ( Jav(a) + -an ) + -ese

Example Sentences

In particular, they studied the 'bonang', an instrument from the Javanese gamelan built from a collection of small gongs.

From Science Daily • Feb. 27, 2024

On Wednesday, he is to travel to Yogyakarta, a city also on the island of Java that is the center of Javanese culture and the seat of royal dynasties going back centuries.

From Washington Times • Jun. 19, 2023

Nyadran is a Javanese ritual heavily influenced by Hinduism and Buddhism that involves visiting ancestors’ gravesites to pay respect.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 21, 2023

Yogyakarta, an hour’s flight east of Jakarta, is the heart of Javanese culture as well as Indonesian contemporary art, so naturally ruangrupa wanted nothing but to be subversive.

From New York Times • Jun. 9, 2022

Claude Debussy was so intrigued by the Javanese dancers and musicians at the 1899 World’s Fair in Paris that he developed techniques for evoking the exotic sounds of the gamelan on a Western piano.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall