Ambonese

Part of speech: adjective, noun

Definitions

1. Relating to Ambon, the Indonesian island in the Maluku archipelago, or to the people and culture originating there
2. Describing something that comes from or belongs to Ambon, the island in eastern Indonesia, including its inhabitants and traditions
3. Pertaining to the island of Ambon in Indonesia, its native population, or the languages spoken among its communities

Etymology: Ambonese is about as straightforward as English demonyms get: it is simply Ambon, the name of an island in the Maluku group of eastern Indonesia, with the suffix "-ese" attached. The same ending turns Japan into Japanese, Portugal into Portuguese and China into Chinese. The suffix has a long pedigree. It passed through Latin "-ensis", which marked origin or belonging, then through Old French "-eis", and reached Middle English as "-eys" before settling into the modern "-ese" form. English used it for demonyms in the same way for centuries, so a newly encountered place name could be given a usable adjective almost automatically.