jaga

1. ManglishSinglishinvariableTo keep watch, to watch over.

   […] I better go to Ma’s place. You jaga the girls.

   2014, Danielle Lim, chapter 14, in The Sound of SCH: A Mental Breakdown, A Life Journey, Ethos Books, →ISBN

   2 more examples

   “Next to my shop, there was this auntie selling joss sticks and traditional Chinese items,” Mr Kadir said. “She would always help to jaga my shop when I need to go out, and when customers come she will help me to tell them to wait. After the work day finishes, she’ll always tell me to go home safely, I always remember that.”

   2021 June 24, Jessica Heng, quoting Mr Kadir, “A Journey Through The Only HDB Estate In Siglap, The Lesser-known Dakota Crescent”, in ricemedia.co, archived from the original on 09 Sep 2024

   We sat around at the NLB after midnight and helped to jaga these migrant workers who were painting.

   2023, Kristian-Marc James Paul, Myle Yan Tay, Mysara Aljaru, Brown is Redacted: Reflecting on Race in Singapore, Ethos Books, →ISBN

1. MalaysiaSingaporeA guard or watchman.

   At the boarding house, the jaga — nightwatchman — hurriedly turned on all the lights so that everyone could see what was happening.

   2010, Peter Thompson, The Battle for Singapore: The True Story of the Greatest Catastrophe of World War II, Little, Brown Book Group, →ISBN

   2 more examples

   The driver, holding a bunch of keys, approached the jaga, and told him that the kepala of the company, the Hock Lam Company, — in North Bridge Road, had sent him to collect some goods.

   1965 February 25, “'Workers' fool jaga in $4,000 theft”, in The Straits Times, Singapore: Singapore Press Holdings Limited, page 8

   The Oldham Lane home was a big flat with an office below us and Oldham Hall up the hill. An Indian jaga slept outside the office on his charpoy (rope bed) and he cooked in the open.

   2020, Irene Lim, 90 Years in Singapore, Pagesetters Services Pte Ltd, →ISBN

plural Jagas

1. A member of a Hindu caste-based group of people who were traditionally genealogists.
2. A member of a Muslim community in Uttar Pradesh, India, converts from the Hindu Jaga Bhatt caste.

plural Jagas

1. historicalA member of any of various unrelated tribes of African warriors who attacked the Portuguese around the kingdom of Kongo.