Malagasy

See also: malagasy

English

Etymology

From Malagasy malagasy, connected to "Mālāī-Jezīra", island of Malais. Compare English Madagascar, which by folk etymology comes from Marco Polo's misreading of Mogadishu whereas it should be Arabic جَزِيرَة المَالَائِيّ (jazīrat al-mālāʔiyy, “The Island of Mālāī”).

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /ˌmæləˈɡæsi/, /mæləˈɡeɪzi/
  • Audio (Southern England)(file)
  • Audio (Southern England)(file)

Noun

Malagasy (countable and uncountable, plural Malagasy or Malagasies)

  1. (countable) A person from Madagascar or of Malagasy descent.
  2. (uncountable) The languages of Madagascar or of the Malagasy people, when considered to be one language.
  3. (in particular) The chief lect of this language or language group.

Translations
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Adjective

Malagasy (not comparable)

  1. Of, from, or pertaining to Madagascar.
  2. Of or pertaining to the Malagasy people.
  3. Of, pertaining to or in the Malagasy language.

Derived terms

Translations

See also
  • Appendix:Malagasy Swadesh list for a Swadesh list of basic vocabulary words in Malagasy
  • Wiktionary’s coverage of Malagasy terms

Further reading
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