dobi (Malay)
Where does "dobi" come from?
The Malay word 'dobi' is borrowed from the Hindi 'dhobī', which refers to a washerman. The word ultimately finds its roots in the Sanskrit 'dhāu', meaning 'to rinse or cleanse', which evolved from a Proto-Indo-European root suggesting the action of flowing or running. Through various historical shifts, it transformed from a descriptor of cleansing into the specific term now used in Malay to describe things related to laundry.
Full etymology tree
- dobi (Malay), 'of laundering'
- borrowed धोबी (dhobī) (Hindi), 'washerman'
- compound dhob (Hindi)
- inherited धाव् (dhāv) (Sanskrit), 'to run'
- inherited *dʰā́w- (Proto-Indo-Iranian)
- inherited *dʰew- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to die, pass away'
- inherited *dʰā́w- (Proto-Indo-Iranian)
- inherited धाव् (dhāv) (Sanskrit), 'to run'
- suffix -इक (-ika) (Sanskrit), 'forms adjectives from nouns.'
- inherited *ikas (Proto-Indo-Iranian)
- inherited *kos (Proto-Indo-European)
- inherited *ikas (Proto-Indo-Iranian)
- compound dhob (Hindi)
- borrowed धोबी (dhobī) (Hindi), 'washerman'
Ancestors
- धोबी (Hindi)
Updated June 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris