mamak

See also: mamák

English

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from Malay mamak.

Noun

mamak (plural mamaks)

1. (Malaysia, Singapore) A roadside stall selling Muslim Tamil or Malay cuisine; by extension, a restaurant that sells similar foods.
   • 2022 December 29, Jocelyn Tan, “A guide to the best Indian rojak stalls in Singapore”, in Lifestyle Asia‎^[1]:

     To the untrained eye, any dish that’s labelled ‘rojak’ looks like a hot mess. However, you can’t make your way to Singapore without having a taste of authentic Mamak Rojak [...]

2. (Malaysia, Singapore) A person who owns or works in such an establishment
3. (Malaysia, Singapore) A Tamil Muslim

Derived terms

• mamak shop
• mamak stall

Indonesian

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈma.mak/, [ˈma.mak̚]

Noun

mamak (plural mamak-mamak)

1. (dialectal, chiefly Sumatra) (maternal) uncle or elder brother; the male head of a household

   Synonyms: encang, mamang, pakde, paman, uak

Derived terms

• mamanda

Further reading

• “mamak”, 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

Malay

Etymology

Several etymologies have been proposed:

• Borrowed from Tamil மாமா (māmā). Compare Telugu మామ (māma).
• Borrowed from Sanskrit मामा (māmā). Compare Hindi मामा (māmā), Marathi मामा (māmā).
• Inherited from Proto-Malayic *mama(ʔ), from Proto-Austronesian *ama-h. Compare Temuan mamak, Kerinci mamak, Kubu mamok, Tagalog mama.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmamak/ [ˈma.maʔ]
• Rhymes: -amaʔ, -maʔ, -aʔ
• Hyphenation: ma‧mak

Noun

mamak (Jawi spelling مامق, plural mamak-mamak or mamak²)

1. a maternal uncle or elder brother; the male head of a household

   Synonym: pakcik

2. (slang) a Tamil Muslim
3. a roadside stall or restaurant that sells Muslim Tamil or Malay cuisine

Derived terms

• mamanda

Descendants

• → Cantonese: 嘛嘛 (maa³ maa³)
• → English: mamak
• Indonesian: mamak
• → Mandarin: 嘛嘛 (māmā)

References

• “mamak”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• “mamak”, in Kamus Dewan [The Institute Dictionary] (in Malay), Fourth edition, Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2005, →ISBN

Further reading

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

Tagalog

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /maˈmak/ [mɐˈmak̚]
• Rhymes: -ak
• Syllabification: ma‧mak

Noun

mamák (Baybayin spelling ᜋᜋᜃ᜔)

1. rice straw

   Synonyms: dayami, ginikan, yaot