Word
malay
Phoneticsmalay
/ˈmeɪɫeɪ/
Definition
adj. relating to the people, language, or culture of Malaysia and nearby areas.
adj. relating to the Austronesian ethnic group native to the Malay Peninsula and parts of Southeast Asia, or to their language.
Examples
“I really enjoy eating Malay food.”
“The museum features a large collection of traditional Malay woodcarvings and textiles from the nineteenth century.”
“Scholars often study the Malay language to understand the historical trade routes that connected the islands of Southeast Asia with the rest of the world.”
Examples
simple
“I really enjoy eating Malay food.”
contextual
“The museum features a large collection of traditional Malay woodcarvings and textiles from the nineteenth century.”
complex
“Scholars often study the Malay language to understand the historical trade routes that connected the islands of Southeast Asia with the rest of the world.”
Usage
Typically used attributively before a noun; when referring to the language or people as a whole, it is capitalised.
Pitfall
He is a Malaysian language speaker.
He is a Malay language speaker.
Use 'Malaysian' for citizenship or things relating to the country of Malaysia, but use 'Malay' for the specific ethnic group and language.
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. Exonymous derivation from Malayalam മല (mala, “mountain”) has not been demonstrated.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.