malay

C1 Topic:People & Society

US /məˈleɪ/ UK /məˈleɪ/ See IPA manual

Freq #30351

Meanings

1

noun
a member of a Southeast Asian people native especially to the Malay Peninsula and parts of the Malay Archipelago

Malays form communities across Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, and southern Thailand.
2

noun
the Austronesian language of the Malays and the basis of the national languages of Malaysia and Indonesia

She learned Malay before beginning fieldwork on the peninsula.
3

adj
relating to the Malay people, their culture, or their language

The archive contains several early Malay manuscripts.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

2 noun · the austronesian language... Malay language

Word family

Forms Malays

Derived forms Proto-Malay

Related forms Malay languageMalay PeninsulaMalay ArchipelagoAustronesianMalaysia

Etymology

From Malay Melayu, the name of the people and language, ultimately associated with Malayu, a historical polity in Sumatra. The English word is recorded from the late sixteenth century. Malay should not be used as a general synonym for Malaysian.

Topics

People & Society Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# malay

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C1
**Part of speech:** noun, adj
**IPA (US):** /məˈleɪ/
**IPA (UK):** /məˈleɪ/
**Frequency rank:** 30351

## Meanings
1. a member of a Southeast Asian people native especially to the Malay Peninsula and parts of the Malay Archipelago
2. the Austronesian language of the Malays and the basis of the national languages of Malaysia and Indonesia
3. relating to the Malay people, their culture, or their language

## Examples
- Malays form communities across Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, and southern Thailand.
- She learned Malay before beginning fieldwork on the peninsula.
- The archive contains several early Malay manuscripts.

## Derived Forms
- Proto-Malay

## Related Forms
- Malay language
- Malay Peninsula
- Malay Archipelago
- Austronesian
- Malaysia

## Etymology
From Malay Melayu, the name of the people and language, ultimately associated with Malayu, a historical polity in Sumatra. The English word is recorded from the late sixteenth century. Malay should not be used as a general synonym for Malaysian.

## Topics
- People & Society
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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