Wiktionary:Word of the day/2026/August 31 - Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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Merdeka n

  1. (Indonesia, Malaysia) Chiefly of a nation or people: freedom; independence.

Merdeka proper n

  1. (Malaysia, informal) Short for Merdeka Day (“the independence day of Malaysia, on August 31”).

☞ Today is Hari Merdeka or the Independence Day of Malaysia. It commemorates the date in 1957 when Malaysia became independent of the British Empire.

Illustration for Merdeka

Merdeka 2011.jpg

People waving Malaysian flags at a Merdeka (proper noun sense 1) or Merdeka Day celebration in 2011 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Wiktionary:Word_of_the_day/2026/August_31