Asian Loan Words in English: Malay and Tagalog

Updated February 21, 2017 | Factmonster Staff Updated by an Factmonster Editor on February 21, 2017

Asian loan words in English

Malay (Malaysia and Indonesia): amuck (or amok); batik; cockatoo, from Malay kakatua, via Dutch.; gingham, borrowed from Malay into Dutch (ginggang), and from Dutch into English.; gong; ketchup, from kicap, meaning "fish sauce."; launch, a type of boat.; orangutan, from orang, meaning "man" and hutan, "wilderness, jungle."; paddy, from padi, meaning "rice, rice field."; rattan; sarong
Tagalog (northern Philippines): boondocks, from bundok, meaning "mountain." During the U.S. occupation of the Philippines, the word was adopted by American soldiers, who used it to refer to any far-off or wild place. Later it passed into the general vocabulary.

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