Malay

Meaning

Adj

1. (not-comparable) Of or relating to the Malays, a people living in Brunei, on the eastern coast of Sumatra, the islands of Bangka and Belitung, the Riau archipelago and the coastal areas of Kalimantan in Indonesia, in most of Malaysia (states where they are politically dominant), in Singapore and in the southernmost provinces of Thailand.
2. (not-comparable) Of or related to Malaysia, its people and/or culture.
3. (not-comparable) In, of or otherwise relating to the languages spoken by Malays.

Noun

1. (countable) A person of Malay ancestry, referring to a diverse group of Austronesian peoples inhabiting the Malay archipelago and Malay peninsula in Southeast Asia.
2. (countable, uncountable) Type of mild curry made with yoghurt and fruit, usually pineapple or lychee.

Name

1. (broadly) The Malay language, an Austronesian language spoken by most Malay people and by others where it is an official language, including under the name Indonesian.
2. (strict-sense) The Malay language, an Austronesian language spoken by most Malay people and by others where it is an official language, excluding the national standard known as Indonesian.
3. A municipality of Aklan, Philippines.

Synonyms

Malayan

Malaysian

🇲🇾

Micronesian

🇫🇲

Muslim

Melanesian

Colloquial Malay

Translations

malais

malayo

malaio

Maleis

Malaiisch

malai

malese

Μαλαϊκά

malai

malásio

Malais

Malezyaca

Maleier

Malayca

Pronounced as (IPA)

/məˈleɪ/

Etymology

Etymology tree
Malay Melayuder.
English Malay
From Malay Melayu, from Malayu, a kingdom on Sumatra's eastern coast (today's Jambi), mentioned by the Chinese Monk Yijing as 末羅瑜國 and during the Yuan (1271–1368) and Ming (1368–1644) dynasties as 木剌由, 麻里予兒, 巫來由 and 無來由. First attested in English as 1598.
The oldest known inscriptions in the Malay language were found at Kedukan Bukit (dated 673) and Talang Tuo (dated 684), both in the vicinity of Palembang in southern Sumatra, and at Kota Kapur (dated 686) on Bangka island west of Sumatra. Exonymous derivation from Malayalam മല (mala, “mountain”) has not been demonstrated.