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Malagasy

Malagasy

1 7.4
A person from Madagascar
  • noun
  • /ˌmɑːləˈɡɑːzi/
translation icon : malgache
  • According to Elwyn Simons, scientific director for Duke University's Primate Center, scientists searching for the little prosimians often arrive in an area only to discover the local Malagasy, Madagascar's native people, have just killed an aye-aye.
  • many Malagasy

Examples

  • For many Malagasy, water exemplifies the "rootedness" of individuals in a particular landscape shared by others (Thomas 1997).

    Academic text (2005)
  • Her friend is a proud Malagasy who shares stories about Madagascar's culture.

  • The geographical region is known to the Malagasy as Fiherenana.

    Academic text (1991)
  • "The Malagasy would ask why someone my age, 62, would come all that way to capture such a worthless animal," Simon says.

    Academic text (1993)
  • For the Merina and other Malagasy, stone is far from being an inert material.

    Academic text (2005)
  • To see an aye-aye is considered a harbinger of death by many Malagasy.

    Academic text (1993)
  • The Malagasy believe in a creator and in spirits that inhabit natural objects such as rocks, trees, and water.

    Academic text (1994)
  • Malagasy, especially elders, use proverbs in their daily lives, and they value eloquent rhetoric as a high art.

    Academic text (2003)
  • The Malagasy are an Indonesian-African mixture equivalent to the Arab-African Swahili, and both are the product of Indian Ocean commerce.

    Academic text (1991)
  • The Malagasy have long lived within a fine mesh of taboos that affect their behavior spatially, socially, and temporally (Gennep 1904).

    Academic text (1994)

Compounds

Official name of Madagascar from 1958 to 1975

Surface Forms

Malagasy singular
Malagasies plural

Etymology

Malagasy comes from the island name Madagascar and the word people use for themselves, and it reflects a mix of African and Southeast Asian roots since their language is related to Malay. So, a Malagasy is 'a person from Madagascar'.