Dayak

[ dahy-ak, -uh k ]

/ ˈdaɪ æk, -ək /

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

Also Dyak.

Origin of Dayak

First recorded in 1830–40

In the evenings he sometimes joined a group of Dayak youths and would start to air his opinions.

Wanderings Among South Sea Savages And in Borneo and the Philippines |H. Wilfrid Walker
The tradition of the manufacture of man out of wood instead of clay is thoroughly in keeping with an origin purely Dayak.

Folk-lore in Borneo |William Henry Furness
Generally, though, there is precious little fighting, as the Dayak attacks only when his victims are unprepared.

Wanderings Among South Sea Savages And in Borneo and the Philippines |H. Wilfrid Walker
As is well known, the Dayak women all wear rings of brass around their waists.

Wanderings Among South Sea Savages And in Borneo and the Philippines |H. Wilfrid Walker

Here also was a fort with its cannon, with a Dayak or Malay sergeant and a dozen men in charge.

Wanderings Among South Sea Savages And in Borneo and the Philippines |H. Wilfrid Walker

Dayak

/ (ˈdaɪæk) /

a variant spelling of Dyak