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Indonesian - 5 dictionary results

In⋅do⋅ne⋅sian

  [in-duh-nee-zhuhn, -shuhn, -zee-uhn, -doh-]
Use Indonesian in a Sentence
–noun
1. a member of the ethnic group consisting of the natives of Indonesia, the Filipinos, and the Malays of Malaysia.
2. a member of a population supposed to have been resident in the Malay Archipelago before the Malays, and believed to constitute one element of the present mixed population of Malaysia and perhaps Polynesia.
3. Official name, Bahasa Indonesia. an Indonesian language that is based on the form of Malay spoken in Java and has the status of official language in the Republic of Indonesia.
4. the westernmost branch of the Austronesian family of languages, including Malay, Indonesian, Tagalog, and Malagasy.
–adjective
5. of or pertaining to the Malay Archipelago.
6. of or pertaining to Indonesia, the Indonesians, or their languages.
Origin:
1840–50; Indonesi(a) + -an
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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In·do·ne·sian   (ĭn'də-nē'zhən, -shən)   
n.  
  1. A native or inhabitant of Indonesia.
  2. A native or inhabitant of the Malay Archipelago.
  3. A subfamily of Austronesian that includes Malay, Tagalog, and the languages of Indonesia.
  4. A dialect of Malay that is the official language of Indonesia. Also called Bahasa Indonesia.
adj.  Of or relating to Indonesia, the Indonesians, or their languages or cultures.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Indonesian

In`do*ne"sian\, a. [Indo- + Gr. ? island.] Of or pertaining to Indonesia or Indonesians.

Indonesian

In`do*ne"sian\, n. A member of a race forming the chief pre-Malay population of the Malay Archipelago, and probably sprung from a mixture of Polynesian and Mongoloid immigrants. According to Keane, the autochthonous Negritos were largely expelled by the Caucasian Polynesians, themselves followed by Mongoloid peoples of Indo-Chinese affinities, from mixture with whom sprang the

Indonesian race.

The term Indonesian, introduced by Logan to designate the light-colored non-Malay inhabitants of the Eastern Archipelago, is now used as a convenient collective name for all the peoples of Malaysia and Polynesia who are neither Malay nor Papuans, but of Caucasic type. . . . The true Indonesians are of tall stature (5 ft. 10 in.), muscular frame, rather oval features, high, open forehead, large straight or curved nose, large full eyes always horizontal and with no trace of the third lid, light brown complexion (cinnamon or ruddy brown), long black hair, not lank but often slightly curled or wavy, skull generally brachycephalous like that of the melanochroic European. --A. H. Keane.

The Indonesians [of the Philippines], with the tribal population of some 251, 200, live almost exclusively on the great island of Mindanao. They are not only physically superior to the Negritos, but to the peoples of the Malayan race as well, and are, as a rule, quite intelligent. --Rep. Phil. Com., 1902.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Indonesian 
1850, from Indonesia, from Indo-, comb. form of Gk. Indos "India" + nesos "island." Formerly called Indian Archipelago or East Indies Islands (see Indies).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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