Gunong

/ɡuːˈnɔŋ/ noun

Definition

In Malaysian and Indonesian contexts, a mountain or hill, particularly when used as a geographical reference in place names.

Etymology

From Malay 'gunung' meaning mountain or hill. The word has been adopted into English when referring to Southeast Asian geography and appears in place names like Gunung Kinabalu. It represents the influence of Austronesian languages on English geographical terminology.

Kelly Says

Many English speakers don't realize that dozens of place names in Malaysia and Indonesia contain this word—'gunung' simply means mountain, so Gunung Kinabalu literally means 'Kinabalu Mountain,' which is hilariously redundant when English speakers add 'mountain' after it!

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