mudik · noun — in Indonesia, the practice of migrants or migrant workers returning to their hometown or village during major holidays. It carries an Arena rating of 1444, earned across 188 head-to-head judged battles.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, mudik ranks #2,690 of 17,194 for Most Exacting Words, #5,631 of 17,162 for Most Elegant Words, #6,132 of 17,166 for Most Vivid Words, #6,478 of 17,160 for Most Beautiful Words.
Why “mudik” is a great word
MUDIK — [Noun] In Indonesia, the annual mass homecoming of urban migrants to their ancestral villages during major holidays, most notably before Eid al-Fitr. Borrowed from Indonesian mudik, itself commonly attributed to Javanese mulih dhisik ("go home first") or from the concept of traveling udik (upstream, toward a river's source, i.e., inland villages). Unlike pulang (a general term for returning home) or a commute (a routine functional transit), mudik is a collective, ritualistic pilgrimage that reverses the flow of urbanization. It is the train carriage packed shoulder-to-shoulder for a twelve-hour journey, the suitcase bursting with city gifts for village kin, and the choked highways becoming rivers of headlights as the city's lifeblood retreats upstream—an annual pilgrimage that measures the distance between who you have become and who you are still expected to be.
❧ Essay by Lexicurio’s AI · definition, etymology & citations from published sources
Etymology
Borrowed from Indonesian mudik.
noun
- In Indonesia, the practice of migrants or migrant workers returning to their hometown or village during major holidays.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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