At a talk given by Dr Victor King to the Brunei Nature Society on Monday 21 October, he suggested that the word orangutan was actually invented by an Englishman. This surprised me, as I always assumed it was from Malay.
Daftar Leksikal 7 Dialek, published by Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka Brunei, gives the word as orang hutan in Standard Malay and Kedayan, and as orang utan in Brunei Malay, Dusun and Bisaya. However, in Tutong and Murut, the word is shown as mayas. I don't know if mayas was the original word for the animal in Brunei.
One other word that looks like it is Malay but actually originates from English is Kampung Ayer; apparently, this comes from the English Water Village. So maybe orangutan is similar.
