Where does “ribuan” come from?

ribuan (Indonesian) comes from Indonesian ribu, from Malay ribu, from Proto-Malayic *ribu, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *ʀibu — thousand.

ribuan (Indonesian): thousands

Definitions

  1. thousands

Ancestry of “ribuan”, step by step

ribuan traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Indonesian ribu

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Indonesianributhousand; million
2Malayributhousand; million
3Proto-Malayic*ribu—
4Proto-Malayo-Polynesian*ʀibuthousand

via Indonesian an

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Indonesianan—
Every word from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *ʀibu →Every word from Proto-Malayic *ribu →Every word from Malay ribu →