English Explanatory Dictionary

Malagasy

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A person from Madagascar or of Malagasy descent.
name
  1. The languages of Madagascar or of the Malagasy people, when considered to be one language.
  2. The chief lect of this language or language group.
adj
  1. Of, from, or pertaining to Madagascar.
  2. Of or pertaining to the Malagasy people.
  3. Of, pertaining to or in the Malagasy language.

Pronunciation

/ˌmæləˈɡæsi/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-Malagasy.wav /ˌmæləˈɡeɪzi/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-Malagasy2.wav /ˌmɑləˈɡɑsi/

Word forms

Malagasy Malagasies

Etymology

From Malagasy malagasy, connected to Mālāī-Jezīra, “island of Mālāī”. Compare English Madagascar, which by folk etymology comes from Marco Polo's misreading of Mogadishu whereas it should be Arabic جَزِيرَة المَالَائِيّ (jazīrat al-mālāʔiyy, “the Island of Mālāī”).

Related words

Wiktionary’s coverage of Malagasy terms

Derived words

Malagasy carnivoran Malagasy civet Malagasy mongoose Malagasy mouse Malagasy rat Malagasy rodent Malagasy warbler
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
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