malai

See also: malaí, málaí, mălai, Mǎlái, Mã Lai, ma lai, and mal aí

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Hindi मलाई (malāī).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /məˈlaɪ/

Noun

malai (uncountable)

1. (cooking) An Indian cream made by heating and then cooling non-homogenized whole milk and then skimming off the resulting fatty layer.
   • 2020, Avni Doshi, Burnt Sugar, Hamish Hamilton, page 109:

     The milk had malai on top.

Derived terms

• malai kofta
• ras malai

Anagrams

• Lamia, Malia, ilama, lamia, malia

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from English Malay, from Malay Melayu.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Northern, Balearic, Central) [məˈlaj]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia, Northwestern) [maˈlaj]

• Audio (Barcelona):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: ma‧lai

Adjective

malai (feminine malaia, masculine plural malais, feminine plural malaies)

1. Malay (pertaining to the Malay Peninsula, to the Malay people, or to the Malay language)

Derived terms

• península Malaia (“Malay Peninsula”)

Noun

malai m (plural malais, feminine malaia, feminine plural malaies)

1. Malay (an individual of the Malay people)

Noun

malai m (uncountable)

1. Malay (a Malayic language of Malaysia)

Indonesian

Pronunciation

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /ˈmalai̯/ [ˈma.lai̯]
• Rhymes: -alai̯
• Syllabification: ma‧lai

Etymology 1

Inherited from Malay malai (“flower worn in the hair”), from Tamil மாலை (mālai), from Old Tamil 𑀫𑀸𑀮𑁃 (mālai).

Noun

malai (plural malai-malai)

1. panicle

   Synonyms: dompolan, panikula

2. spire

   Synonym: bumban

3. spikelet

   Synonyms: buliran, malaian

4. ear (of paddy)

   Synonym: bulir

5. garland

   Synonyms: burja, malai bunga

Derived terms

• bermalaikan
• memalai

Etymology 2

Unknown (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

malai (plural malai-malai)

1. (botany) soft bollygum, bolly beech, Bollywood, bollygum, brown bollygum, brown Bollywood, sycamore, brown beech (Litsea glutinosa)

Derived terms

• malai-malai

Etymology 3

Borrowed from Blagar [Term?].

Noun

malai (plural malai-malai)

1. moko which is used as a dowry in the Blagar community in Alor

Etymology 4

Borrowed from Banjarese [Term?].

Verb

malai

1. to be unable to absorb fuel (the wick on a kerosene stove)

Further reading

• “malai”, in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia [Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016

Latvian

Noun

malai f

1. dative singular of mala

Malay

Noun

malai (Jawi spelling مالاي, plural malai-malai or malai²)

1. garland, especially an elaborate one adorned with gold, gemstones etc.

References

• "malai" in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu (PRPM) [Malay Literary Reference Centre (PRPM)] (in Malay), Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017

Swahili

Pronunciation

• Audio (Kenya):

  (file)

Noun

malai class ? (plural [please provide])

1. milk cream