Dayak

American  

[dahy-ak, -uhk] / ˈdaɪ æk, -ək /

Also Dyak

noun

plural

Dayaks,

plural

Dayak

1. a member of any of several Indigenous, Austronesian-speaking tribal peoples of Sarawak and Indonesian Borneo.

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Dayak British  

/ ˈdaɪæk /

noun

1. a variant spelling of Dyak

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Etymology

Origin of Dayak

First recorded in 1830–40

Example Sentences

We were walking along a trail when the 43-year-old forester stopped and slid a mandau, the machete-like knife carried by the Indigenous Dayak people, from a sheath at his waist.

From National Geographic • Jan. 23, 2024

The same is true of the Dayak fruit bat, which can only be found in southeast Asia's Sunda Shelf.

From Salon • May 28, 2022

His family has lived deep in the rainforest for eight generations, and the 62-year-old has been involved in multiple legal actions as the secretary general of the Sarawak Dayak Iban Association, an Indigenous rights group.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 8, 2021

Despite not having been consulted, the Dayak tended to go along.

From Washington Post • Mar. 8, 2018

In accordance with the prevailing Dayak custom men and women eat at the same time.

From Through Central Borneo; an Account of Two Years' Travel in the Land of Head-Hunters Between the Years 1913 and 1917 by Lumholtz, Carl