Dusunic

Part of speech: adjective, noun

Definitions

1. Relating to the Dusunic group of languages spoken by peoples of northern Borneo, such as the Kadazan-Dusun
2. Describing the languages, cultures, or peoples belonging to the Dusunic branch of the Austronesian family in Borneo
3. Of or belonging to the Dusunic linguistic group, whose speakers live mainly in Sabah and parts of Brunei

Etymology: The adjective comes from "Dusun," the name applied to a group of peoples in northern Borneo, now largely in Sabah. That name is usually linked to Malay "dusun," meaning "orchard" or "fruit garden," though the exact route from that word to a people's name is uncertain. Many of these communities farmed fruit and rice, so the connection is plausible, but it is not firmly documented. Outsiders, including Malay-speaking traders and later colonial administrators, used the name to group many communities that did not necessarily see themselves as a single people. The "-ic" ending is an English suffix, taken from Latin and Greek "-icus" and "-ikos," that turns a noun into an adjective meaning "relating to." Linguists added it to "Dusun" to label a branch of the Austronesian language family spoken in Borneo, and "Dusunic" now refers to the languages of that branch, such as Kadazan-Dusun. The term is a modern technical coinage, so it is not an old folk word.