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.
Exonymous derivation from Malayalam മല (mala, “mountain”) has not been demonstrated.
Meanings
(not-comparable) 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.
“I heard the Malay fellas talking at the office.” 2008, Preeta Samarasan, Evening is the Whole Day, Fourth Estate, page 124:
There were not many passengers, and the journey was uneventful until the frontier was reached at Padang Besar, although an armed escort of Malay police accompanied the train from Alor Star. 1955 April, “Notes and News: A Journey through Thailand”, in Railway Magazine, page 286:
(not-comparable) In, of or otherwise relating to the languages spoken by Malays.
be мала́йскі (of the Malay people) · ru мала́йский (of the Malay people) · fr malais (of the Malay people) · fi malaiji- (of the Malay people) · af Maleis (of the Malay people) · fr malay (of the Malay people) · tl Malayo (in, of or otherwise pertaining to the Malay language) · sea Gòp (of the Malay people) · nn malayisk (in, of or otherwise pertaining to the Malay language) · nb malaysisk (in, of or otherwise pertaining to the Malay language) · scn malisi (in, of or otherwise pertaining to the Malay language) · cs malajský (of the Malay people) · ne मलायी (of the Malay people) · pt malaio (in, of or otherwise pertaining to the Malay language) · fr malais (in, of or otherwise pertaining to the Malay language) · es malayo (in, of or otherwise pertaining to the Malay language) · is malajískur (in, of or otherwise pertaining to the Malay language) · ms orang Melayu (of the Malay people) · my မလေး (of the Malay people) · sl malajski (of the Malay people) · da malajisk (of the Malay people) · nn malaysisk (in, of or otherwise pertaining to the Malay language) · hy մալայական (of the Malay people) · it malese (in, of or otherwise pertaining to the Malay language) · km ជ្វា (of the Malay people) · pt malásio (of the Malay people) · nl Maleisisch (of the Malay people) · scn malisi (of the Malay people) · hi मलय (of the Malay people) · cmn 馬來語的 /马来语的 (in, of or otherwise pertaining to the Malay language) · tl Malayo (of the Malay people) · mk малајски (of the Malay people) · fi malaijien (of the Malay people) · ca malaia (in, of or otherwise pertaining to the Malay language) · pl malajski (of the Malay people) · hu maláj (of the Malay people) · nl Maleis (of the Malay people) · cmn 馬來人的 /马来人的 (of the Malay people) · es malayo (of the Malay people) · id bahasa Melayu (in, of or otherwise pertaining to the Malay language) · nb malaysisk (of the Malay people) · id Melayu (of the Malay people) · ms Melayu (of the Malay people) · gd Malaidheach (of the Malay people) · bg мала́йски (of the Malay people) · da malaysisk (of the Malay people) · ast malayu (in, of or otherwise pertaining to the Malay language) · ast malayu (of the Malay people) · da malajisk (in, of or otherwise pertaining to the Malay language) · nl Maleis (in, of or otherwise pertaining to the Malay language) · ca malai (in, of or otherwise pertaining to the Malay language) · th มลายู (of the Malay people) · mnw ပရှူး (of the Malay people) · pt malaio (of the Malay people) · hu maláj (in, of or otherwise pertaining to the Malay language) · nn malayisk (of the Malay people) · ca malai (of the Malay people) · sk malajský (of the Malay people) · hi मलय (in, of or otherwise pertaining to the Malay language) · nn malaysisk (of the Malay people) · fa مالایی (of the Malay people) · ms bahasa Melayu (in, of or otherwise pertaining to the Malay language) · it malese (of the Malay people) · id orang Melayu (of the Malay people) · fr malay (in, of or otherwise pertaining to the Malay language) · ca malaia (of the Malay people) · de malaiisch (of the Malay people) · da malaysisk (in, of or otherwise pertaining to the Malay language) · nb malayisk (of the Malay people) · af Maleis (in, of or otherwise pertaining to the Malay language) · fa مالایی (in, of or otherwise pertaining to the Malay language) · is malajískur (of the Malay people) · uk мала́йський (of the Malay people) · nb malayisk (in, of or otherwise pertaining to the Malay language) · km ម៉ាឡេ (of the Malay people) · fi malaijinkielinen (in, of or otherwise pertaining to the Malay language) · my ပသျှူး (of the Malay people) · haw ʻōlelo Malaia (in, of or otherwise pertaining to the Malay language)
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.
Exonymous derivation from Malayalam മല (mala, “mountain”) has not been demonstrated.
Meanings
(countable) A person of Malay ancestry, referring to a diverse group of Austronesian peoples inhabiting the Malay archipelago and Malay peninsula in Southeast Asia.
(countable, uncountable) Type of mild curry made with yoghurt and fruit, usually pineapple or lychee.
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.
Exonymous derivation from Malayalam മല (mala, “mountain”) has not been demonstrated.
Meanings
(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.
(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.
Malay is the lingua franca of several Southeast Asia countries and has been simplified by its use as a second language by non-native speakers.
For example, the Malay plural is formed by repeating a word twice – buku means book and buku-buku means books. 2021 April 25, John Malathronas, “Which languages are easiest – and most difficult – for native English speakers to learn?”, in CNN, archived from the original on 22 Mar 2022:
th ภาษามลายู (the Malay language) · th ภาษามาเลย์ (the Malay language) · id bahasa Melayu (the Malay language) · es malayo (the Malay language) · cs malajština (the Malay language) · eu malaiera (the Malay language) · fr malais (the Malay language) · nl Maleis (the Malay language) · vi tiếng Mã lai (the Malay language) · de Malaiisch (the Malay language) · la Malaicum (the Malay language) · ko 말레이어 (the Malay language) · ko 마인어 (the Malay language) · ms bahasa Melayu (the Malay language) · ast malayu (the Malay language) · gd Malaidhis (the Malay language) · ga Malaeis (the Malay language) · pl malajski (the Malay language) · ar لُغَة مِلَايُو (the Malay language) · it malese (the Malay language) · hak 馬來語 /马来语 (the Malay language) · yue 馬來話 /马来话 (the Malay language) · tl Malayo (the Malay language) · nan-hbl 馬來語 /马来语 (the Malay language) · af Maleis (the Malay language) · hy մալայերեն (the Malay language) · fa زبان مالایی (the Malay language) · fr malay (the Malay language) · ru мала́йский язы́к (the Malay language) · hu maláj (the Malay language) · el μαλαισιανά (the Malay language) · vi tiếng Mã-lai (the Malay language) · nn malayisk (the Malay language) · tr Malayca (the Malay language) · hi मलय (the Malay language) · ja マレー語 (the Malay language) · id Melayu (the Malay language) · mk малајски (the Malay language) · ca malai (the Malay language) · pt malaio (the Malay language) · la Malaeorum (the Malay language) · nv Maléízha bizaad (the Malay language) · gv Malayish (the Malay language) · ru мала́йский (the Malay language) · yue 馬拉話 /马拉话 (the Malay language) · eo Malaja (the Malay language) · cmn 馬來語 /马来语 (the Malay language) · is malajíska (the Malay language) · kk малай тілі (the Malay language) · fi malaiji (the Malay language) · sv malajiska (the Malay language) · nb malayisk (the Malay language)