Pinang
/pɪˈnɑːŋ/noun
A Malay word for the areca palm or its nut, especially the betel nut.
Did you know?Pinang is the Malay name for the areca palm, and it helped give Penang its name, showing how a plant word can become a place name through colonial history.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Malayo-Polynesian
PMP
*pinaŋ
“areca palm / areca nut”
Old Malay
Malay
pinang
“areca palm; areca nut”
16th Century
Portuguese
pinanga
“borrowed form referring to the areca palm or nut in Southeast Asian trade contexts”
19th Century
English
pinang
“a borrowed regional term for the areca palm or betel nut”
Modern English
English
pinang
“the areca palm or its nut, in regional or specialized usage”