Where does “orangoutan” come from?
orangoutan (French) comes from Malay Orang Utan, from Dutch orang-oetan, from Malay orang hutan, from Indonesian hutan, from Malay hutan, from Proto-Malayic hutan, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian qutan, from Proto-Austronesian quCaN — scrubland; bush.
Ancestry of “orangoutan”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Malay | Orang Utan | orangutan arboreal anthropoid ape |
| 2 | Dutch | orang-oetan | orangutan |
| 3 | Malay | orang hutan | Alternative spelling of orang utan |
| 4 | Indonesian | hutan | forest |
| 5 | Malay | hutan | forest |
| 6 | Proto-Malayic | hutan | forest |
| 7 | Proto-Malayo-Polynesian | qutan | scrubland; bush |
| 8 | Proto-Austronesian | quCaN | scrubland; bush |