Where does “datuk bandar” come from?

datuk bandar (Malay) comes from Malay datuk, from Austronesian *datu.

datuk bandar (Malay): mayor

Definitions

  1. mayor

Ancestry of “datuk bandar”, step by step

datuk bandar traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Malay datuk

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Malaydatukgrandfather
2Austronesian*datu—

via Malay Bandar

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1MalayBandarCity
2Persianبندرport; harbour
Every word from Austronesian *datu →Every word from Malay datuk →