Rohingya

noun

Ro·​hin·​gya rō-ˈhin-jə 

plural Rohingyas

1

: a member of a predominantly Muslim people of South and Southeast Asia and especially the western coasts of Myanmar and Bangladesh

2

: the Indo-Aryan language of the Rohingya

Rohingya adjective

Word History

Etymology

apparently borrowed from Bengali rohiṅga, with -y- perhaps after Burmese rui-hang-gya, both reflecting the Rohingya self-designation, a derivative of local names for Arakan (now Rakhine), region and former state in western Burma

First Known Use

1960, in the meaning defined at sense 1