Where does “Maleis” come from?
Maleis (Afrikaans) comes from Dutch Maleis, from Malay Melayu, from Malay Malayu, from Old Javanese layū, from Proto-Sunda-Sulawesi lariw, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian laʀiw, from Proto-Austronesian laʀiw.
Ancestry of “Maleis”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Dutch | Maleis | Malay, relating to people and/or language |
| 2 | Malay | Melayu | Malay |
| 3 | Malay | Malayu | — |
| 4 | Old Javanese | layū | — |
| 5 | Proto-Sunda-Sulawesi | lariw | — |
| 6 | Proto-Malayo-Polynesian | laʀiw | — |
| 7 | Proto-Austronesian | laʀiw | — |