Merdeka

English

WOTD – 31 August 2026
People waving Malaysian flags at a Merdeka (proper noun sense 1) or Merdeka Day celebration in 2011 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Etymology

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *méǵh₂s
Proto-Indo-Iranian *maȷ́ʰā́
Sanskrit म॒हत् (mahát)
Sanskrit महा (mahā)
Proto-Indo-European *h₂eldʰ-?
Sanskrit ऋध् (ṛdh)
Proto-Indo-European *-tós
Proto-Indo-European *-is
Proto-Indo-European *-tis
Sanskrit -ति (-ti)
Sanskrit ऋद्धि (ṛddhi)
Proto-Indo-European *-kos
Proto-Indo-Iranian *-kas
Proto-Indo-Aryan *-kas
Sanskrit -क (-ka)
Sanskrit महर्द्धिक (maharddhika)der.
Malay merdeheka
Malay merdekabor.
English Merdeka

    Borrowed from Malay merdeka, an elision of merdeheka ~ merdahika, borrowed from Sanskrit महर्द्धिक (maharddhika, “very prosperous”), from महा (mahā) (a combining form of म॒हत् (mahát, “abundant; great, large”)) +‎ ऋद्धि (ṛddhi, “prosperity, wealth”) +‎ -क (-ka, suffix forming adjectives):[1]

    • म॒हत् (mahát) is ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European *méǵh₂s (“big, great”).
    • ऋद्धि (ṛddhi) is possibly ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eldʰ- (“to accomplish”) or *h₂erdʰ- (“abundance”).
    cognates

    Pronunciation

    • Rhymes: -ɛkə, -eɪkə
    • Hyphenation: Mer‧de‧ka

    Noun

    Merdeka (uncountable)

    1. (Indonesia, Malaysia) Freedom or independence, chiefly of a nation or people.
      • 1946 April, P. Madhavan Nair, “Indonesia: The Land of Promise”, in Kedar Nath Chatterji, editor, The Modern Review, volume LXXIX, number 4 (number 472 overall), Calcutta, West Bengal: Nibaran Chandra Das, Prabasi Press, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 292, column 1:
        The Indonesian struggle is being watched with intense interest and sympathy by all the subject peoples of Asia who are struggling for national independence. Their battle-cry ‘Merdeka’ which means freedom resounds throughout the length and breadth of Asia.
      • 1957 August–September, D[onald] C[harles] MacGillivray, High Commissioner, Federation of Malaya, “Merdeka Messages”, in Ho Seng Ong, editor, Methodist Message: Official Publication of the Methodist Church, Southeastern Asia, volume 61, number 6, Singapore: Methodist Church, Southeastern Asia, →OCLC, page 143:
        August 31st, 1957, the day on which the Federation of Malaya will achieve independence within the British Commonwealth, will be a time for rejoicing that Malaya has safely achieved Merdeka by peaceful means; […]
      • 1972, Benedict R[ichard] O’G[orman] Anderson, “The Buchō Cabinet and Its Audiences”, in Java in a Time of Revolution: Occupation and Resistance, 1944–1946, Ithaca, N.Y.; London: Cornell University Press, →ISBN, page 117:
        Animating these myriad proclamations of independence were the ideas of merdeka (freedom) and of the formless solidarity of the nation, not the controlling, organized authority of the center.
      • 2011 March, Mahathir Mohamad, “Vision 2020”, in A Doctor in the House: The Memoirs of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia: MPH Group Publishing, published April 2011, →ISBN, page 598:
        We had achieved Merdeka, our Independence, in political terms and Malaysia had established its sovereignty. As individuals and as a society we had to achieve complete mental and psychological merdeka too. We had to stand up on our own terms and affirm our character and values.

    Alternative forms

    Derived terms

    Translations

    Proper noun

    Merdeka

    2. (Malaysia, informal) Short for Merdeka Day (“the independence day of Malaysia, on August 31”).
      to celebrate Merdeka    Merdeka parade
      • 1959 September 2, “University union to celebrate Merdeka”, in The Straits Budget: The Weekly Issue of The Straits Times, number 680, Singapore: Straits Times Press, →OCLC, page 13, column 4:
        UNIVERSITY UNION TO CELEBRATE MERDEKA [title] […] The students' union of the University of Malaya, Singapore division, is organising functions to celebrate the second anniversary of the Federation's achievement of independence.
      • 1991, John Falconer, “150 Years of Photography in Malaysia”, in Malaysia: Heart of Southeast Asia […], Singapore: Archipelago Press, Editions Didier Millet, published 1997, →ISBN, page 18, column 2:
        [P]hotographic films since the mid-19th century […] have recorded the growth of a nation from the Independence celebrations of 1957 to the annual festivities which every year mark Merdeka.
      • 2013 June 26, “Pathmanabhan a/l Nalliannen & Ors v Public Prosecutor”, in Malayan Law Journal, volume 5, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia: Malayan Law Journal, →OCLC, headnote, page 868:
        The first and second accused further testified that together with the fourth accused and two others, they did gather at the farm around midnight to celebrate Merdeka.

    Translations

    References

    1. ^ Compare “merdeka, n.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, July 2023.

    Further reading

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