Etymograph

English

Malay

Malay comes from Malay Melayu.

  1. MalaymodernMelayu
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1955Malay

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. MalaymodernMelayu
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1955Malay

Earliest quotation: 1955, Notes and News: A Journey through Thailand: “There were not many passengers, and the journey was…”

first attested First attested in English as 1598 (as stated in the etymology)

The story

First attested in English as 1598. Exonymous derivation from Malayalam മല (mala, “mountain”) has not been demonstrated.

Every English word from Malay Melayu

Today it means

adj Of or relating to the Malays, a people living in Brunei and coastal regions of Borneo including Kalimantan in Indonesia, on the eastern coast of Sumatra, the islands of Bangka and Belitung, the Riau archipelago, in most of the Malay Peninsula including the southernmost provinces of Thailand, states of West Malaysia (where they are politically dominant in the federation), and in Singapore.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Malay Melayu / Malay

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