lek

English: ‘leg’.

See original Mihalic entry.

Lek mak

Noun forms

  1. Physiology: a leg, a foot
    pinga bilong lek a toe
    skru bilong lek the knee
    lek mit calf or thigh muscle
    kikim long lek kick with the foot

  1. Physiology: any limb of an animal, or animal paw
    dok i gat fopela lek a dog has four legs
    spaida i gat etpela lek a spider has eight legs

  1. Physiology: footprint
    mi lukim planti lek bilong pik I saw a lot of pig tracks
    mak bilong lek footprints

  1. Botany: tree root
    graun wel na mi pundaun long lek bilong diwai it was slippery and I tripped on a tree root
    mi wok long kalapim lek bilong diwai I had to climb from tree root to tree root

Noun combination forms

  1. Culture: hap lek pik in the highlands, depending on the local method of butchering, either a cut of pork consisting of a leg or a full quarter of a pig; a unit of wealth for gift giving
    taim bilong marit mi kisim hap lek pik, bihain mi bekim at the wedding I received a leg of pork, I’ll have to make a return payment later

  1. lek mak footprint, animal track
    yumi bihainim lek mak bilong wel pik let’s follow the wild pig’s tracks

Verb phrase forms

  1. Culture: karim lek a Middle Wahgi custom of courtship where girls sit side by side boys, putting their legs across their thighs, singing courting songs; groups of girls invite boys, not the other way round. ® kukim nus
    ol yangpela meri Wahgi i save singautim ol boi long karim lek Wahgi girls are the ones who invite the boys to karim lek

  1. Culture: lokim lek Bougainville custom where, it is said, a mother-in-law tricks a son-in-law to leave a footprint on a beach so she can wrap it in a leaf, remove and bespell it to prevent him taking her daughter to live in another village ® marila

© Revising the Mihalic Project, 28 Jan 2005 [Home]