# East Indies

> English word · Proper noun

## Definitions
1. Southeast Asia, especially Island Southeast Asia or Indonesia, but also including India, Indochina, Malaya and the Malay Archipelago, from the Philippines to Indonesia.

## Etymology
From east + Indies, a qualification added to distinguish the original lands and islands of "India" (inclusive of areas from Subsaharan Africa to Indonesia and Japan) from the "West Indies".

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-09-03.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/east-indies