vanga

→ English: vanga


vorona

Possibly borrowed from Banjarese burung.


saka

Felis silvestris catus
Felis silvestris catus#Translingual


lambo

(figuratively, by extension) lazy person who eats a lot


tona

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *tuna, from Proto-Austronesian *tuNa.

A species of very large nocturnal serpent.

(figurative) An eel too large to be used as food because of its resemblance to a tona.


fosa

desctree

→ English: fossa
→ Portuguese: fossa
→ Translingual: Fossa

Likely once referred to the Malayan weasel (Mustela nudipes) prior to a semantic shift, thus cognate with Sarawak Malay pusak and Tagalog pusa.

Cryptoprocta ferox
Cryptoprocta ferox#Translingual


vontsira

A member of either of two species of small, brown, mongoose-like mammals Salanoia concolor and Salanoia durrelli, from Madagascar.


bobaky

Buteo brachypterus
Buteo brachypterus#Translingual

(Sakalava, Tankarana) Madagascar buzzard (Buteo brachypterus)


akoma

Malagasy ground boa (Acrantophis madagascariensis)


bitro

Rebracketing of rabitro, a borrowing from English rabbit, as ra- (“prefix forming names”) + *bitro.


akoho vositra

akoho (“chicken”) + vositra (“castrated livestock”)


fandikanala

Coua reynaudii
Coua reynaudii#Translingual


omby

cow, ox (an individual of Bos taurus, irrespective of sex)


famefakangaty

Microcarbo africanus
Microcarbo africanus#Translingual

long-tailed cormorant (Microcarbo africanus)


ambiko

(dialectal) the highland streaked tenrec (Hemicentetes nigriceps)


ankoay

Madagascan fish eagle
Madagascan fish eagle

Haliaeetus vociferoides
Haliaeetus vociferoides#Translingual

Madagascan fish eagle (Haliaeetus vociferoides)


ampondra

/aˈᵐpuⁿɖ͡ʐa/

[əˈᵐpuⁿɖ͡ʐə̥]


bemanana

a species of large bird of prey like a hawk or falcon


amponga

(dialectal) the pitcher plant species Nepenthes madagascariensis


fanihy

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *paniki. Compare Tagalog paniki.


amboahaolo

Eupleres goudotii
Wikispecies:Eupleres goudotii


arosy

Sarkidiornis melanotos
Sarkidiornis melanotos#Translingual

knob-billed duck (Sarkidiornis melanotos)


fandikalalana

Madagascan nightjar (Caprimulgus madagascariensis)


fandrasangara

Accipiter henstii
Accipiter henstii#Translingual


takatra

Scopus umbretta
Scopus umbretta#Translingual


daronambolo

(Betsimisaraka) palm saplings, especially those of Dypsis procumbens(syn. Neophloga mananjarensis)


fandrasalambo

Polyboroides radiatus
Polyboroides radiatus#Translingual

Madagascan harrier-hawk (Polyboroides radiatus)


dangoro

Ardea purpurea
Ardea purpurea#Translingual


vivy

Tachybaptus pelzelnii
Tachybaptus pelzelnii#Translingual

grebes, especially the Madagascan grebe (Tachybaptus pelzelnii)


lavaelatra

Falco concolor
Falco concolor#Translingual


dimaty

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *qali-matek. Compare Cebuano alimatok, Thai ทาก (tâak).


boky boky

narrow-striped mongoose (Mungotictis decemlineata)


antsanga

sediment deposited by a flood or a stream


gidro

From Swahili ngedere or Arabic قِرْد (“monkey”)


bakaka

(Sakalava) Johnson grass (Sorghum halepense)


trandraka

→ French: tanrec

→ English: tenrec

Possibly related to Malay landak ("porcupine")

Tenrec ecaudatus
Wikispecies:Tenrec ecaudatus


kibobo

Turnix nigricollis
Turnix nigricollis#Translingual

the Madagascan buttonquail (Turnix nigricollis)


antsantsa

(figurative, dialectal) robber who robs travelers


bandrolahy

(dialectal) hook-billed vanga (Vanga curvirostris)


besavily

be (“big, great”) + savily (“hinge”), referring to the swinging of its tail.


dingadingana

(Tankarana) the plant Dombeya linearifolia


falamakavava

Anastomus lamelligerus
Anastomus lamelligerus#Translingual

(Tanala) African openbill (Anastomus lamelligerus)


farifotra

spectacled tetraka (Xanthomixis zosterops)


vorombato

Glareola ocularis
Glareola ocularis#Translingual

Madagascan pratincole (Glareola ocularis)


fitiliandro

Malagasy palm swift (Cypsiurus gracilis)

Madagascan spinetail (Zoonavena grandidieri)


tsiriry

Tachybaptus ruficollis
Tachybaptus ruficollis#Translingual


sokina

Haza sokina.

To hunt tenrecs (figuratively: to examine very carefully)

Setifer setosus
Setifer setosus#Translingual

the greater hedgehog tenrec, Setifer setosus


trozona

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *duyuŋ (“dugong”).


jamoka

(dialectal, Tankarana) baskets stored on shelves as an ornament


bibindandy

biby (“animal”) + landy (“silk, silkworm”)


sifaka

→ Catalan: sifaca

→ English: sifaka

→ German: Sifaka


babakoto

→ English: babakoto, babacoote


endrina

→ English: indri

(dialectal) indri (Indri indri, species of lemur)


antsangy

[əˈⁿt͡saᵑɡʲ]

From a Sabaki Bantu language; compare Swahili sengi (“elephant shrew”).


voalavo

Inherited from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *balabaw.


amboa

Borrowed from Swahili mbwa.
Malagasy is unusual among the Austronesian languages in that all its words for 'dog' are loanwords, derived from Bantu languages. All pre-colonial dogs in Madagascar are descended from dogs from mainland Africa. The initial Austronesian settlers of Madagascar certainly would have brought dogs with them, but these dogs may not have survived the voyage to Madagascar, or were genetically supplanted by mainland African dogs.


fiantsifa

bluespine unicornfish
bluespine unicornfish

short-nose unicornfish
short-nose unicornfish

Naso unicornis
Wikispecies:Naso unicornis

bluespine unicornfish, short-nose unicornfish (Naso unicornis)


maky

→ French: maki
→ Catalan: maqui
→ English: maki
→ German: Maki
→ Italian: maki


aiay

→ English: aye-aye


ampongy

western woolly lemur (Avahi occidentalis)


voay

Inherited from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *buqaya. Compare Indonesian buaya.


tsidiala

hairy-eared dwarf lemur
hairy-eared dwarf lemur

hairy-eared dwarf lemur (Allocebus trichotis)


lamboresy

From lambo (“wild boar”) + resy (“defeated; conquered”).


vorondolo

From vorona (“bird”) + lolo (“ghost”). Compare Indonesian burung hantu (literally “ghost bird”).


papango

→ French: papangue

Circus macrosceles
Circus macrosceles#Translingual


ondry

Ultimately from a Central Sudanic language, in which it originally meant "goat".


vorombazaha

vorona (“bird”) + vazaha (“foreigner; white person”); "foreign bird".


vorombe

vorona (“bird”) + be (“big”); "big bird"


ganagana

From French cane (“female duck”), plus reduplication.


varika

Related to Banjarese warik (“monkey”) and Ma'anyan warik (“monkey”).


sahona

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *sa(ŋ)kuŋ (“resounding sound”).


fitiliky

small-toothed sportive lemur (Lepilemur microdon)

weasel sportive lemur (Lepilemur mustelinus)


vositse

Malagasy giant rat (Hypogeomys antimena)


tandrondro

Clipping of sangoritra, variant of sangorina (“to cut”), in reference to its quick thrusting tongue, and rondra (“to crawl”)