Malagasy

noun

Mal·​a·​gasy ˌma-lə-ˈga-sē How to pronounce Malagasy (audio) ˌmä-lə-ˈgä-sē How to pronounce Malagasy (audio)
-shē
plural Malagasy also Malagasies
1
: a member of a people of Indonesian and African origin who inhabit Madagascar
2
: the Austronesian language of the Malagasy people
Malagasy adjective

Examples of Malagasy in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
For instance, many residents of the Malagasy city of Ambositra are trained as wood-carvers and were hired to make the classroom doors for her latest project. Charlotte Collins, Architectural Digest, 11 Sep. 2024 The rodents likely arrived in the late 1700s, when a French ship—carrying Malagasy people kidnapped for the slave trade—wrecked there, says Matthieu Le Corre, an ecologist at the University of Reunion Island, a French overseas region off the coast of Madagascar. Ethan Freedman, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 May 2024 Their story illustrates the Malagasy principle of valim-babena—the duty of grown children to help their parents. Alan Taylor, The Atlantic, 18 Apr. 2024 Not so passive are the Malagasy, restlessly reaching for their imminent independence, and backgrounded in the film until Miangaly seizes narrative focus in a denouement that centers her people’s revolution. Guy Lodge, Variety, 9 Mar. 2024 Sadly, to counteract the unlucky event of seeing one, the Malagasy will often kill the offending creature, a tradition which has contributed to its endangered status. Discover Magazine, 8 Jan. 2024 The feat didn’t come easy — or quickly — for the Malagasy filmmaker, who graduated from Marrakech’s ESAV film school in 2011 and then spent more than a decade crafting award-winning shorts while developing his first feature. Ben Croll, Variety, 3 Dec. 2023 Tribal Beauty This hairstyle is native to the Malagasy people, a tribe that originated from Madagascar. ELLE, 21 July 2023 Back in 2009, a massive categorization of amphibians in the island revealed that the 244 Malagasy frog species known to science were probably just half of the total diversity that could be found. Sofia Quaglia, Discover Magazine, 26 Dec. 2022

Word History

First Known Use

1835, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of Malagasy was in 1835

Dictionary Entries Near Malagasy

Cite this Entry

“Malagasy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Malagasy. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

Malagasy

noun
Mal·​a·​gasy ˌmal-ə-ˈgas-ē How to pronounce Malagasy (audio)
plural Malagasy also Malagasies
1
: a person born or living in Madagascar
2
: the language of the Malagasy people
Malagasy adjective

More from Merriam-Webster on Malagasy

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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