List of English words of Malay origin

 

Agar (also 'agar-agar')

a gelatinous substance obtained from various kinds of red seaweed and used in biological culture media and as a thickener in foods.

Amok (also 'amuck' or 'amock')

out of control, especially when armed and dangerous; in a frenzy of violence, or on a killing spree, 'berserk', as in 'to run amok'.

Babirusa (also 'babiroussa') 

from French babiroussa, from Malay babi hog + rusa deer. A wild pig (Babyrousa babyrussa) of the East Indies with backward-curving tusks.

Balanda (also 'ballanda' or 'ballander') 

from Makasar balanda, from Malay belanda, from Dutch Hollander meaning a white person, a European.

Bamboo 

from bambu

Banteng 

from banteng, 'a SE Asian forest ox that resembles the domestic cow, domesticated in Bali [Bos javanicus.]'

Binturong 

from binturong, 'a large species of civet, Arctictis binturong, of SE Asia'.

Caddy (also 'caddie')

from kati (a measurement unit, whereby 1 kati = approximately 600 g).

Cassowary 

from kasuari/kesuari, 'a very large flightless bird related to the emu'.

Catty 

from kati (a unit of measurement)

Camphor 

see Kapur. From Old French camphore or Mediaeval Latin camphora, from Arabic 'kāfūr', from Malay kapur.

Cempedak (also Chempedak) 

from Cempedak, a species of tree and its fruit in the family Moraceae.

Cockatoo 

from kakaktua, a parrot with an erectile crest.

Compound (enclosed group of buildings) 

by folk etymology from kampung or 'village'

Cooties 

from kutu, 'lice'

Dammar 

from damar, 'resin; resin obtained from various mainly Indo-Malaysian trees, used to make varnish.'

Dugong 

from duyung, 'mermaid'

Durian 

from duri 'thorns', hence durian, 'thorny'

Gambier 

from gambir(the name of the plant), an astringent extract of a tropical Asian plant, used in tanning'

Gecko 

from geko,gekok

Gingham 

from ginggang

Gong 

from gong, a metal disc with a turned rim that gives a resonant note when struck.

Gutta-percha 

(a type of tree whose sap is used in the manufacture of synthetic rubber) from getah, 'rubber' and perca, 'scrap/piece'; hence getah perca, 'a scrap/piece of rubber'

ikat 

from ikat, 'to bind', a style of weaving that uses a process similar to tie-dye to dye the threads.

Jackfruit 

generally cited as deriving from the Malayalam chakka or cakkai via the Portuguese jaca, which came from the Malay/Indonesian word nangka.

Junk (type of boat) 

from jong

Kapok 

from kapuk, 'a fine fibrous substance which grows around the seeds of a ceiba or silk-cotton tree, used as stuffing for cushions'

Kapur 

from kapur a large tropical tree which yields light brown wood, edible fruit, and camphor [Genus Dryobalanops.]

Komodo 

from komodo

Kris (also archaic 'creese') 

from keris, 'a Malay/Indonesian dagger with a wavy-edged blade'

Launch 

from lancar (meaning 'swift', 'nimble'; and 'making something moves faster'; and 'doing or held something like an action, attack etc.' ) and lancaran (meaning 'a kind of swift boat' - in old Malay literatures) , 'a large motor boat.'

Langsat 

from langsat, a species of fruit-bearing tree belonging to the family Meliaceae [Lansium domesticum]

Mangosteen 

from manggustan, also known as Manggis

Meranti  

from meranti, 'white, red, or yellow hardwood from a SE Asian tree (genus Shorea)'

Merbau  

from merbau, 'the hardwood of a SE Asian tree (genus Intsia)'

Orangutan 

from orang hutan or 'people of the jungle'

paddy 

as in 'paddy-field' or 'rice paddy', from padi, referring to the rice plant Oryza sativa.

Pandanus 

from pandan, 'a tropical tree or shrub with a twisted stem, long spiny leaves, and fibrous edible fruit.[Genus Pandanus.]'

Pangolin 

from pengguling, 'one that rolls/curls'

Pantoum 

from pantun, 'a Malay poetic/verse form'.

Parang 

from parang, 'a Malayan machete',

Picul 

from pikul (a unit of measurement)

Proa (also 'prahu' or 'prau')

from perahu, 'a Malaysian or Indonesian sailing boat, typically having a large triangular sail and an outrigger'

Rambutan 

from rambut 'hair', hence rambutan, 'hairy'

Ramie 

from rami, 'the plant of the nettle family which yields this fibre, native to tropical Asia. [Boehmeria nivea.]'

Rattan 

from rotan

Sago 

from sagu, '(sago palm) the palm from which most sago is obtained, growing in freshwater swamps in SE Asia. [Metroxylon sagu.]; any of a number of other palms or cycads which yield a similar starch.'

Salak 

from salak, ' a species of palm tree (family Arecaceae) native to Indonesia and Malaysia [Salacca zalacca]'

Sambal 

from sambal, (in oriental cookery) relish made with vegetables or fruit and spices.

Sarong 

from sarung, 'wrap/sheath'

Satay (also 'sate') 

from Malay satai, Javanese/Indonesian "sate", 'an Indonesian and Malaysian dish consisting of small pieces of meat grilled on a skewer and served with spiced sauce.'

Seladang 

from seladang, a wild ox with a dark brown or black coat with white lower legs, native to India and Malaysia. [Bos gaurus.] .

Siamang 

from siamang, 'a large black gibbon native to Sumatra and Malaya [Hylobates syndactylus.]'

Silat 

from silat, 'a Malay's martial art'

Tael 

from tahil (a unit of measurement) meaning 'weight'

Tokay 

from toke of Malay dialect, means 'a large grey SE Asian gecko with orange and blue spots. [Gekko gecko.]

Trepang 

from teripang/trepang

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