Some Malay words and derivations
C. N. Maxwell’s short note (pp. 182–183) offers critical responses to two recent articles in the Journal of the Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society: A. W. Hamilton’s “Some Malay words” and R. J. Bee’s “Some Kelantan Place Names.”
Maxwell objects to Hamilton’s inclusion of Chinese-origin words in a list of Malay vocabulary, arguing that without a defined criterion for borrowing, the Malay lexicon would become a “cosmopolitan rubbish heap” (p. 182). He concedes that Hamilton’s comparative work on cognates such as kuda, kudira, and kudirei is valuable, and notes that three of Hamilton’s words (lemusir, bagok, saudara mara) already appear in Wilkinson’s dictionary. He also corrects the explanation of bagok as a proper name, distinguishing it from the English “Reynard” and linking it to specific physical features of both a monkey and a catfish (p. 182).
Turning to Bee’s Kelantan place names, Maxwell rejects the derivation of tumpat from ketupat (a type of cake), pointing to the presence of a definite m in the former that is absent in the latter, and insists that Kelantan phonology must be understood before etymological claims are made (p. 183). He further challenges Bee’s derivation of Tabal from Tak Bai (“place of drying sails”), suggesting instead a connection to tambak (reclaimed land) or tambal (patching). Maxwell closes by recommending that dialect words be verified in Jawi script to reveal sounds unfamiliar to non-local speakers (p. 183).