Etymograph

English

mamak

Mamak comes from Malay mamak ‘a maternal uncle or elder brother’.

  1. Malaymodernmamak‘a maternal uncle or elder brother’
  2. Englishearliest quotation 2022same form

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Earlier history uncertain.

Lineage

  1. Malaymodernmamak‘a maternal uncle or elder brother’
  2. Englishearliest quotation 2022same form

Earliest quotation: 2022, Jocelyn Tan, A guide to the best Indian rojak stalls in Singapore: “To the untrained eye, any dish that’s labelled ‘rojak’…”

Every English word from Malay mamak

Today it means

noun A roadside stall selling Muslim Tamil or Malay cuisine; by extension, a restaurant that sells similar foods.

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

Etymograph / Malay mamak / mamak

Shirt and support for this word