Where does “batu bara” come from?

batu bara (Indonesian) comes from Indonesian bara, from Malay bara, from Proto-Malayic *bara(ʔ), from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian baʀah, from Proto-Austronesian baʀah — ember; glowing coal.

batu bara (Indonesian): coal: a black rock formed from prehistoric plant remains, composed largely of carbon and burned as a fuel

Definitions

  1. coal: a black rock formed from prehistoric plant remains, composed largely of carbon and burned as a fuel

Ancestry of “batu bara”, step by step

batu bara traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via Indonesian bara

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Indonesianbaraember
2Malaybaraember
3Proto-Malayic*bara(ʔ)live coal
4Proto-Malayo-Polynesianbaʀahember; glowing coal
5Proto-Austronesianbaʀahember; glowing coal

via Indonesian batu

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Indonesianbatustone
2Malaybatustone; mile
3Proto-Malayicbatustone
4Proto-Malayo-Polynesianbatustone
5Proto-Austronesian*batuxrock; stone

via Chinese 石炭

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Chinese石炭coal
Every word from Proto-Austronesian baʀah