lokun

English

Alternative forms

• lo-kun, lo kun, lo-koon, lor kun

Etymology

From Hokkien 老君 (ló-kun), from Malay dukun (“shaman or medicine man”). Doublet of dukun.

Pronunciation

• (Singapore, Malaysia) IPA^(key): /ləʊˈkʊn/
• Hyphenation: lo‧kun

Noun

lokun

1. (Singapore and Malaysia, informal, colloquial) doctor; physician
   • 2006 October 30, kaupehkaubu, “Malaysia A Police State? Is Mahathir Serious?”, in Sangkancil‎^[1] (Usenet):

     What they say about the doctors, generalist and the specialist: […] The specialist(aka tua lokun) knows more and more about less and less until eventually he knows everything about nothing.

   • 2012 October 31, Chang Mei Bin, “The Testimony of the Late Dr Richard Teo, the Singaporean Millionaire Plastic Surgeon”, in SacredHeart1984‎^[2] (Usenet):

     Anything more than SGD$30, they would complain: “Wah, this lo kun (doctor) jing qwee (very expensive)!”

   • 2015, Gwee Li Sui, Singathology: 50 New Works by Celebrated Singaporean Writers:

     The lo-kun stared steadily at the computer screen, his finger still, uncertain what to do, unable to understand if some tragic meaning lay behind that long coughing fit.

Usage notes

• Used primarily in casual conversation or informal writing and not in more formal written works and discourse.

Translations

doctor — see doctor