East indies
name, noun
name, noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 plural of East Indie form-of, plural
Proper Noun
- 1 Southeast Asia, especially Island Southeast Asia or Indonesia, but also including India, Indochina, Malaya and the Malay Archipelago, from the Philippines to Indonesia. plural, plural-only
Synonyms
All synonymsEtymology
From east + Indies, a qualification added to distinguish the original lands and islands of "India" (inclusive of areas from Subsaharan Africa to Indonesia and Japan) from the "West Indies".