Malay

American  

[mey-ley, muh-ley] / ˈmeɪ leɪ, məˈleɪ /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of a racially intermixed people who are the dominant population of the Malay Peninsula and adjacent islands.

2. of or relating to the language or culture of these people.

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noun

1. a member of the Malay people.

2. an Austronesian language of Malaysia and Singapore, differing from Indonesian only in orthography.

Malay British  

/ məˈleɪ /

noun

1. a member of a people living chiefly in Malaysia and Indonesia who are descendants of Mongoloid immigrants

2. the language of this people, belonging to the Malayo-Polynesian family

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adjective

1. of or relating to the Malays or their language

Other Word Forms

• non-Malay adjective
• pre-Malay adjective

Example Sentences

For centuries the Maniq -- one of Thailand's smallest ethnic minorities — lived as hunter-gatherers, roaming the rainforests of the Malay Peninsula, moving with the seasons in search of food.

From Barron's • Nov. 24, 2025

De' Conti acknowledged the fruit's esteem throughout the Malay archipelago, but considered its odour nauseating.

From Salon • Jul. 22, 2024

Until the flaperon was found, the only evidence for the plane turning back on itself was data from military radar in Malaysia and Thailand, which spotted the plane flying west over the Malay peninsula.

From BBC • Mar. 7, 2024

Both prisoners wore traditional tunics and trousers to court and sat mostly silently in court listening to the proceedings through Malay translation.

From New York Times • Jan. 16, 2024

“I mean such as Malay proas, catamarans, Arab dhows, Chinese sanpans, Japanese pilot boats, Turkish caiques, Esquimaux kiacks, Alaskan war canoes, the hooded boats of the Swiss Lakes, and so on.”

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson