Where does “barang” come from?

barang (Indonesian) comes from Javanese barang, from Old Javanese baraṅ.

barang (Indonesian): thing; baggage

Definitions

  1. thing; baggage

Ancestry of “barang”, step by step

barang traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Javanese barang

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Javanesebarang—
2Old Javanesebaraṅ—

via Malay barang

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Malaybarangmarker used to denote indefiniteness

Words derived from “barang”

Every word from Old Javanese baraṅ →Every word from Javanese barang →