Appendix:Malay words of Tamil origin

This article lists Malay words that are derived from Tamil. There may be a lack of direct peer-reviewed references for the individual words.

People from the various parts of the Indian subcontinent have been in communication with Southeast Asia for several millennia, and influence of various Indian languages may be seen in Malay. Moreover, Tamil, a language of great antiquity, while influencing other Indian languages, has also been influenced in turn by other languages of India. Hence the term Tamil used in this article must be taken to mean words found in Tamil, and not necessarily words of pure Tamil stock.

Several words are bound to have their origin from Sanskrit or Pali, entering Malay through Tamil, and have cognates in other Asian languages. Sanskrit and Tamil have coexisted for so long in India that it is often difficult to separate which word originated from which language. You can find similar words in Thai, Sinhala, Hindi, etc. Malayalam may have borrowed some of them from Tamil.

Malay terms derived from Tamil

A

• acuan from அச்சு (accu, “mould”)
• ambalan from அம்பலம் (ampalam, “gathering, grouping”)
• apam from அப்பம் (appam, “appam, a type of pancake”)

B

• bambu. Tamil வேம்பு (vēmpu, “neem tree”) (Azadirachta indica)
• bedil. Tamil வெடில் (veṭil, “gunpowder”)

C

• candu. Tamil சண்டு (caṇṭu, “a ball of opium prepared for smoking”)
• cat. Tamil சாதி (cāti, “to paint”)
• cemeti. Tamil சம்மட்டி (cammaṭṭi, “horse-whip”)
• cerut. Tamil சுருட்டு (curuṭṭu, “cigar”)
• contoh. Tamil சௌத்து (cauttu, “pattern, sample, model”)
• cuci. Tamil சுசி (cuci, “ceremonial purification”)
• culan. Tamil சோழன் (cōḻaṉ, “a royal title used by the Chola kings”)

G

• gudang from கிடங்கு (kiṭaṅku, “store room”)
• gundik from கொண்டி (koṇṭi, “concubine, prostitute”)

J

• jodoh from சோடு (cōṭu, “pair, couple, set”)

K

• kapal. Tamil கப்பல் (kappal, “ship”)
• kari. Tamil கறி (kaṟi, “curry”)
• katil. Tamil கட்டில் (kaṭṭil, “cot”)
• kawal. Tamil காவல் (kāval, “guard, watch”)
• kedai. Tamil கடை (kaṭai, “shop”)
• keldai. Tamil கழுதை (kaḻutai, “donkey”)
• kolam. Tamil குளம் (kuḷam, “pond”)
• kuali. Tamil குவளை (kuvaḷai, “wide-mouthed vessel; cup”)
• kuda. Tamil குதிரை (kutirai, “horse”)
• kuil. Tamil கோயில் (kōyil, “temple”)

L

• logam from உலோகம் (ulōkam, “metal”)

M

• mahkota from மகுடம் (makuṭam, “throne”)
• mahligai from மாளிகை (māḷikai, “mansion”)
• mangga from மாங்காய் (māṅkāy, “mango”)
• mempelam from மாம்பழம் (māmpaḻam, “mango”)
• mendikai from கொம்மட்டிக்காய் (kommaṭṭikkāy, “watermelon”)
• meterai from முத்திரை (muttirai, “mark, seal, stamp”)
• misai from மீசை (mīcai, “moustache”)

N

• nakal from நக்கல் (nakkal, “naughty”)
• nelayan from நுளையன் (nuḷaiyaṉ, “fisherman”)
• nilai from நிலை (nilai, “character, quality, nature”)
• nilam from நீலம் (nīlam, “blue, sapphire”)

P

• perisai from பரிசை (paricai, “shield”)
• perli from புரளி (puraḷi, “to tease, to deceive”)
• peti from பெட்டி (peṭṭi, “box, case”)
• pili from பீலி (pīli, “water tap”)
• putu from புட்டு (puṭṭu, “dish made of rice flour and shredded coconut”)

S

• sate from சதை (catai, “flesh”)

T

• tandu from தண்டு (taṇṭu, “palanquin”)
• taulan from தோழன் (tōḻaṉ, “friend”)
• teman from தமன் (tamaṉ, “friend, relative”)
• tembikai from கொம்மட்டிக்காய் (kommaṭṭikkāy, “watermelon”)
• tirai from திரை (tirai, “screen”)
• topi from தொப்பி (toppi, “cap”)
• tose from தொசை (tocai, “dosai, a type of pancake or crepe”)

U

• uai from ஔவை (auvai, “mother”)

References

• de Vries, Jan W., Grijns, C.D., and Santa Maria, L. 1983, Indonesian: a check-list of words of European origin in Indonesian and traditional Malay, Leiden: Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde. Tharuma Prabu-Malaysian Indian, →ISBN.
• Jones, Russell, editor (2007), Loan-Words in Indonesian and Malay‎^[1], Leiden: Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde, →ISBN
• The Extent of the Influence of Tamil on the Malay Language: A Comparative Study - Dr. T.Wignesan (This paper was given at the VIIIth World Tamil Studies Congress, held in the Tamil University in Tanjavur, India, on December-January 1994-95, now published in the critical collection: T. Wignesan. Sporadic Striving amid Echoed Voices, Mirrored Images & Stereotypic Posturing in Malaysian-Singaporean Literatures. Allahabad: Cyberwit.net, 2008, xix-244p.)