Sumatra

Meanings

1. The largest island entirely in Indonesia and the world’s sixth largest island.

1. A squall or violent rainstorm coming from the south.
2. A chicken of a breed native to the island of Sumatra, formerly used in cock-fighting and now mainly kept for exhibition.

Etymology

From Portuguese Sumatra, from Arabic سُومَطْرَة (sūmaṭra), from Malay Sumatera, from Sanskrit समुद्र (samudra, “sea”). Mentioned in the 11th century in Sanskrit as समुद्रभूमि (samudrabhūmi, “land of Sumatra”), gradually replacing the earlier सुवर्णद्वीप (suvarṇadvīpa).