List of English words of Malay origin
This is a partial list of loanwords in English language, that were borrowed or derived, either directly or indirectly, from Malay language. Many of the words are decisively Malay or shared with other Malayic languages group, while others obviously entered Malay both from related Austronesian languages and unrelated languages of India and China. Some may also not directly derived from Malay into English, but through other languages, in particular, that of European powers that have exercised significant influence in the Maritime Southeast Asia.
The adoption of various Malay terms began with contact between European powers and classical sultanates in Nusantara in the 16th century and accelerated in the 19th century with the advent of British colonisation in the region. Many of the earliest borrowing can be found in the accounts of early voyages during the Age of Discovery, when traders and travellers brought back products and objects of natural history from Maritime Southeast Asia which became known by their native names. Over the time, with the flowering of English literature dealing with subjects native to the region, other words used to denote things and notions of Malay world and culture, have also made their way into English.
A
; Agar : a gelatinous substance obtained from various kinds of red seaweed and used in biological culture media and as a thickener in foods. From Malay agar-agar, first known use was in 1813.; Amok :out of control, especially when armed and dangerous; in a frenzy of violence, or on a killing spree, 'berserk', as in 'to run amok'. Adopted into English via Portuguese amouco, from Malay amok. Earliest known use was in 1665 as a noun denoting a Malay in a homicidal frenzy.
; Angraecum: Neo-Latin modification of Malay anggěrik orchid. First known use was in 1805.
; Attap: From the Malay word atap. Thatch made in SE Asia from Nipa palm fronds.
B
; Babirusa : from French babiroussa, from Malay babi hog + rusa deer. A wild pig of Southeast Asia with backward-curving tusks. First known use was in 1673.; Balanda : from Makassarese balanda, from Malay belanda. First known use in English was from the mid-19th century. The Yolŋu people of Arnhem Land in northern Australia, through their contact with Macassan traders, adopted the word and use it for all white people, both in their own languages and in Aboriginal English.
; Bamboo : from Dutch bamboes, based on Malay mambu. First known use was in 1586. The common Malay word for bamboo is buluh, though the root word mambu may have originated as a corruption of the Malay word semambu, a type of rattan used to make the walking stick variously referred to as Malacca cane or bamboo cane in English.
; Banteng : from Malay banteng, derived from Javanese banṭéng. A Southeast Asian forest ox that resembles the domestic cow, domesticated in Bali. First known use was in 1817.
; Bilimbi : a Southeast Asian evergreen tree resembling the carambola. Also refers to the very acid fruit of the bilimbi that is used for preserves or pickles. From Konkani bilimbī, from Malay bĕlimbing.
; Binturong : from binturong, 'a large species of civet, Arctictis binturong, of Southeast Asia'. First known use was in the early 19th century.
C
; Caddy : a small storage container, typically one with divisions, for example a tool caddy. Also might refers to a 'tea caddy', a small tin in which tea is kept for daily use. From earlier catty, denoting a unit of weight of 1 1/3 lb, from Malay kati. First known use was in 1792.; Catechu : any of several dry, earthy, or resinous astringent substances obtained from tropical plants of Asia, as an extract of the heartwood of an East Indian acacia or as gambier. Neo-Latin modification of Malay kachu; of possible Dravidian origin; akin to Tamil and Kannada kācu and catechu. First known use was in 1683.
; Cajuput : An Australasian tree related to the bottlebrushes, with papery bark. Derived from Malay kayu putih, literally ‘white tree’, first known use in English was in the late 18th century.
; Caladium : any of a genus of tropical American plants of the arum family widely cultivated for their showy variably colored leaves. Neo-Latin genus name, from Malay kĕladi, an aroid plant. First known use was in 1881.
; Camphor : a tough gummy volatile aromatic crystalline compound C10H16O obtained especially from the wood and bark of the camphor tree and used as a liniment and mild topical analgesic in medicine, as a plasticizer, and as an insect repellent; also : any of several similar compounds. Derived from Middle English caumfre, from Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin camphora, from Arabic kāfūr, possibly from Malay kapur. First known use was in the 14th century.
; Cananga : Neo-Latin for a tree of the genus Canangium. Derived from Malay kĕnanga, first known use in English was in the late 18th century.
; Cassowary : any of a genus of large ratite birds chiefly of New Guinea and northern Australia that have a horny casque on the head and are closely related to the emu. Derived from Sanskrit kās'sōvāris to Malay kĕsuari, from an Austronesian language of the Moluccas. First known use was in 1611.
; Carabao : the Water buffalo. Derived from .
; Casuarina : any of a genus of dicotyledonous chiefly Australian trees which have whorls of scalelike leaves and jointed stems resembling horsetails and some of which yield a heavy hard wood. Neo-Latin genus name, from Malay pohon kĕsuari, literally, 'cassowary tree'; from the resemblance of its twigs to cassowary feathers. First known use was in 1777.
; Catty : any of various units of weight of China and Southeast Asia varying around one and 1⁄3 pounds ; also : a standard Chinese unit equal to 1.1023 pounds. Adopted from Malay kati, first known use was in 1598.
; Cempedak : from Cempedak, a species of tree and its fruit in the family Moraceae.
; Cockatoo : any of various large noisy chiefly Australasian crested parrots. From Dutch kaketoe, from Malay kakaktua. First Known use was in 1634.
; Compound : a fenced or walled-in area containing a group of buildings and especially residences. Derived by folk etymology referring to such area in Southeast Asia, from Portuguese campo or Dutch kampoeng, from Malay kampong. First known use was in 1679.
; Cootie : head louse, a type of small insect that lives in people's hair. Modification of Malay kutu of the same meaning. First known use was in 1917, popularised by British soldiers during the First World War.
D
; Dammar : any of various hard resins from trees in the families Araucariaceae, Dipterocarpaceae, and Burseraceae. Derived from Malay damar, first known use was in 1698.; Duku : a species of tree in the Mahogany family, Lansium parasiticum, with fruit known as duku or langsat. Derived from Malay duku.
; Durian : a spiny oval tropical fruit containing a creamy pulp, famous for its fetid smell but highly valued for its flavour. Derived from Malay duri with noun-building suffix -an, thus durian means 'thorny'. First known use was in 1588.
G
; Gambier : a yellowish catechu that is obtained from a tropical Southeast Asian woody vine of the madder family and is used for chewing with the betel nut and for tanning and dyeing. First known use was in 1830, adopted from Malay gambir, the name of the plant.; Gecko : any small insectivorous terrestrial lizard of the family Gekkonidae, of warm regions. Their digits have adhesive pads, which enable these animals to climb on smooth surfaces. First known use was in 1774, adopted from Malay geko or gekok, imitative of its cry.
; Gibbon : long-armed apes of Southeast Asia. The English word 'gibbon' is said to be a reborrowing from French, and folk etymology originally from an Orang Asli word, probably via a Malay intermediary.
; Gingham : a cotton fabric, usually woven of two coloured yarns in a checked or striped design. First known use was in 1615, adopted via Dutch gingang, from Malay genggang.
; Godown : a warehouse. First known use was in 1552, by folk etymology, possibly adopted via Portuguese gudão, from Malay gudang.
; Gomuti : a Malayan feather palm that has large leaves with the bases densely clothed with fibers, yields a sweet sap from which jaggery and palm wine are made, and has a pith that furnishes a sago. Derived from Malay pohon gĕmuti.
; Gong : a disk-shaped percussion instrument that produces a resounding tone when struck with a usually padded hammer, or a saucer-shaped bell that is struck by a mechanical hammer, or a wire rod wound in a flat spiral for sounding the time or chime or alarm. First known use was in 1590, from Malay gong or gung of imitative origin.
; Gutta-percha : a whitish rubber substance derived from the coagulated milky latex of any of these trees: used in electrical insulation and dentistry, or any of several tropical trees of the sapotaceous genera Palaquium and Payena, especially Palaquium gutta. First known use was in 1845, from Malay getah perca, from getah + perca, altered by association with obsolete gutta, from Latin gutta.
I
; Ikat : a method of creating patterns in fabric by tie-dyeing the yarn before weaving, also referring to a fabric in which the yarns have been tie-dyed before weaving. First known use was in 1927, adopted from Malay ikat.J
; Japan : from Portuguese Japão or Dutch Japan, acquired from Malay Jepun, itself originated from a Chinese dialect as Jih Pun, literally 'origin of sun'. First known use in English was in the 1570s.; Junk : a flat-bottomed sailing vessel of a kind typical of China and the Southeast Asia, with a prominent stem and lug sails. First known use was in the mid 16th century: adopted via obsolete French juncque or Portuguese junco, from Malay jong, reinforced by Dutch jonk.
; Jelutong : from Malay jelutong, a Malaysian tree with pale lightweight timber and produces a latex from which chewing gum is made.