Tjerat

Tjerat is an archaic spelling of the Malay-Indonesian word jerat, which means a trap or snare. In contemporary Indonesian and Malay, the standard spelling is jerat.

Historically, tjerat appears in older texts and in Dutch-influenced orthography before spelling reforms standardized the modern form. The form reflects historical conventions for representing the sound of the word before orthographic changes.

As a noun, jerat denotes a device used to trap animals, such as snares or traps, and it can refer to figurative traps as well. The term is frequently used in phrases describing entrapment in a non-literal sense, such as jerat hukum (a legal trap) or situations where someone becomes terjerat, meaning they are caught or ensnared. The related verb menjerat means to ensnare or trap someone, while terjerat describes the state of having been caught or entangled.

The word is common in both Indonesian and Malay, appearing in everyday language, journalism, and literature. Its metaphorical uses extend to social, political, or legal contexts, where entities are said to be caught in a trap or network. While tjerat itself is largely historical, jerat remains a productive part of contemporary vocabulary.