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Jul 6, 2009
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Malay & Tagalog Words

Asian loan words in English

by Ann-Marie Imbornoni
Malay (Malaysia and Indonesia)
amuck (or amok)
batik
cockatoo, from Malay kakatua, via Dutch.
gingham, borrowed from Malay into Dutch (ginggang), and from Dutch into English.
gong
ketchup, from kicap, meaning "fish sauce."
launch, a type of boat.
orangutan, from orang, meaning "man" and hutan, "wilderness, jungle."
paddy, from padi, meaning "rice, rice field."
rattan
sarong
Tagalog (northern Philippines)
boondocks, from bundok, meaning "mountain." During the U.S. occupation of the Philippines, the word was adopted by American soldiers, who used it to refer to any far-off or wild place. Later it passed into the general vocabulary.

Asian Loan Words


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