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East Indies

plural noun
  1. Also called the Indies. SE Asia, including India, Indonesia, and the Malay Archipelago.
  2. the Malay Archipelago.
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Also called East India.
Related formsEast Indian, adjective, nounpseu·do-East In·di·an, adjective, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for east indies

Historical Examples

  • They are so call'd, because the same sort is found in the East-Indies.

    A New Voyage to Carolina

    John Lawson

  • The manner of building is somewhat strange: yet generally used in this Part of the East-Indies.

  • The child is yours: for it cannot belong to a man who has been three years absent in the East-Indies.

British Dictionary definitions for east indies

East Indies

pl n the East Indies
  1. the Malay Archipelago, including or excluding the Philippines
  2. SE Asia in general
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012