Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- Indonesia. The term is sometimes used to refer to all of Southeast Asia. Historically, it referred chiefly to India.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- proper noun Southeast
Asia , especiallyIndonesia , but also includingIndia ,Indochina ,Malaya and the Malay Archipelago.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a group of islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans between Asia and Australia
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word East Indies.
Examples
-
These islands, being quite close to India, were called the East Indies, and the company of Dutch merchants who did most of the business with them was called the East India Company.
The Story of Manhattan Charles Hemstreet
-
The Company of the East Indies was the richer and the more powerful of the two, because the trade of the Far East was beyond comparison the most lucrative in the world.
The Expansion of Europe Ramsay Muir 1906
-
Americas and something called the East Indies, and which Spain claimed as her private property, those humbly born and energetic adventurers were rapidly creating a symmetrical system out of most dismal chaos.
History of the United Netherlands from the Death of William the Silent to the Twelve Year's Truce — Complete (1584-1609) John Lothrop Motley 1845
-
Americas and something called the East Indies, and which Spain claimed as her private property, those humbly born and energetic adventurers were rapidly creating a symmetrical system out of most dismal chaos.
History of the United Netherlands from the Death of William the Silent to the Twelve Year's Truce — Complete (1600-1609) John Lothrop Motley 1845
-
Americas and something called the East Indies, and which Spain claimed as her private property, those humbly born and energetic adventurers were rapidly creating a symmetrical system out of most dismal chaos.
PG Edition of Netherlands series — Complete John Lothrop Motley 1845
-
Americas and something called the East Indies, and which Spain claimed as her private property, those humbly born and energetic adventurers were rapidly creating a symmetrical system out of most dismal chaos.
History of the United Netherlands from the Death of William the Silent to the Twelve Year's Truce, 1604-05 John Lothrop Motley 1845
-
I'm sure one of the reasons the Dutch built an empire across the East Indies was to get away from their winters.
-
Sent to the East Indies at 13, Robert Forbes 1804-89 made a fortune in the opium trade.
-
“JANE FOSTER of the U.S. Office of Strategic Services made this statement on her return to San Francisco from the East Indies,” the paper trumpeted.
A Covert Affair Jennet Conant 2011
-
“JANE FOSTER of the U.S. Office of Strategic Services made this statement on her return to San Francisco from the East Indies,” the paper trumpeted.
A Covert Affair Jennet Conant 2011
Comments
Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.