Etymology Map
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Kris

3 stages from Old Javanese to English.

Today it means a Malay or Indonesian dagger with a wavy blade

Where does the word "kris" come from? It comes from Old Javanese keris, passing through Malay before entering English (1580s).

1
Stage 1 of 3
keris
Old Javanese · medieval
"dagger"
the asymmetrical, often wavy-bladed dagger of Java; much later, in 2005, UNESCO proclaimed the Indonesian kris a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity
2
Stage 2 of 3
keris
Malay · 1400s
"dagger"
the Hikayat Hang Tuah, epic of the Malacca Sultanate's greatest warrior, turns on his magical kris Taming Sari
3
Stage 3 of 3
kris
English · 1580s
"Malay dagger"
early English spellings were creese and crease; Joseph Conrad's Malay novels, starting with Almayer's Folly in 1895, later made it a stock prop
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Read the full story

Kris’s story begins in Old Javanese: keris meant “dagger.” The asymmetrical, often wavy-bladed dagger of Java; much later, in 2005, UNESCO proclaimed the Indonesian kris a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. By 1400s, the word had taken hold in Malay as keris. The Hikayat Hang Tuah, epic of the Malacca Sultanate's greatest warrior, turns on his magical kris Taming Sari. It reached English by 1580s as kris. Early English spellings were creese and crease; Joseph Conrad's Malay novels, starting with Almayer's Folly in 1895, later made it a stock prop. Today, kris means a Malay or Indonesian dagger with a wavy blade.