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Glite Dictionary
🇲🇾 From Malaysia 🧑 A Malaysian
Malayan

Malayan

1 7.2
A person native to the Malay Peninsula and parts of Malaysia and nearby islands
  • noun
  • /məˈleɪən/
translation icon : malayo
  • The Malayan people have a rich cultural heritage that includes traditional music and dance.

Examples

  • Many Malayans participated in the festival celebrating their history and identity.

  • I questioned the staff, all of them Indians, except for a few Malayans, and I was told that just yesterday.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • I met several Malayans at the conference who shared fascinating stories about their homeland.

Synonyms

Malay
vsMalayan
1 5.4

A person who belongs to an ethnic group from parts of Malaysia and nearby islands

means the same but uses people instead of ethnic group wording

Compounds

Malayan tapir
9.4

A large mammal that eats plants with black and white skin living in forests in Malaysia and Sumatra

Surface Forms

Malayan singular
Malayans plural

Morphology

Malayan = Malay (transparent) = Malay + an

Formed by adding the demonymic/nominal suffix '-an' to 'Malay' to denote a person or member of that group.

Etymology

Malayan comes from Malay, which comes from the local word Melayu and once named the people and their land, and some say the name meant 'mountainous island'. So a Malayan is a person from that area or a member of the Malay people.