Tuanku
/tuˈaŋ.ku/noun
A Malay title of respect used when addressing or referring to a ruler, especially a sultan.
Did you know?The title combines tuan, “lord” or “master,” with -ku, the first-person possessive suffix meaning “my”; Tuhan, the Malay word for God, belongs to the same historical word-family.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Malayo-Polynesian (reconstructed)
PMP
*tuh-an
“A reconstructed Austronesian form associated with a lord, master, or superior.”
Old Javanese
Old Javanese
tuhan
“Lord, master, or ruler.”
Middle Malay
Malay
tuan
“Lord, master, sir, or an honorific for a person of rank.”
Classical Malay
Malay
-ku
“The first-person possessive suffix, meaning “my.””
Modern Malay
Malay
tuanku
““My lord”; a formal royal title used for a sultan or other ruler.”
Explore more surprising origins