Это слова из разных языков. Семанг «курчавый» по-тайски
The etymology of the word Semang has been a matter of debate. While early researchers like Skeat and Blagden noted it had "never been satisfactorily explained," the ethnographer Paul Schebesta speculated that it originated from the Lanoh word sema', meaning "human". According to this theory, the word was misheard by Perak Malays, who changed the final glottal stop to the velar nasal [ŋ], resulting in "Semang".[13]
In Thailand, the terms Semang and Orang Asli are replaced by the terms Sakai or Ngopa (Ngò 'Pa or Ngoh Paa, which literally means 'curly/frizzy (haired) people')
а сиаманг из малайского и значит «чёрное существо» (си — это некое одушевлённое существо, может обозначать духа или человека).
The English word siamang (the large black gibbon mentioned above) comes from the Malay siamang [ˈsiːəmɑŋ], which, in turn, probably has an Aslian root. Raffles [1821] describes the species as Simia syndactylus, based on specimens collected in Sumatra, and he notes that siamang had a Malay origin. Wilkinson [1901] states that “siyamang” was from “si-amang, amang having apparently the meaning black”. Since si is the Malay personal definite article, siamang (i.e. Si Amang) would thus take on a fitting gloss of ‘Brother Black’. However, this interpretation is problematic because glossing amang as ‘black’ is hard to support, with the closest definition of the word actually being ‘impurities in tin ore’ [Wilkinson 1932: 626].17 A more likely explanation for siamang is that it is an analogical reformation of Central Aslian ʔamaŋ ‘Symphalangus syndactylus’ (found in Semnam [Burenhult & Wegener 2009: 306], and in Temiar [Skeat & Blagden 1906: M159, Means 1998: 20]).18 The combination of si- with amang thus suggests a folk etymology that employs a somewhat appropriate Malay meaning of the word ‘amang’, giving siamang a gloss along the lines of ‘Mr Sooty’.
Это слова из разных языков. Семанг «курчавый» по-тайски, а сиаманг из малайского и значит «чёрное существо» (си — это некое одушевлённое существо, может обозначать духа или человека).
Я ,это тоже в википедии прочитал.
Но что забавно, малайцы называли семангов и других дикарей орангутанами, но колонтзаторы не так их поняли и решили, что так они рыжих больших обезьян называли.
apparently from Malay orang hutan, orang utan (literally “forest man”), from orang (“person, man”) + hutan (“forest”), although as a term for the animal it is attested only recently (earlier and preferred terms being mawas and mayas). As there is originally no evidence for its usage, except occasionally literally, it must be assumed to have been regional, or a descriptive collocation used to explain the animal to early travellers.
Orangutan это просто "лесной человек", могло применяться и к орангутанам.
Но для этих обезьян у малайцев было другое слово.
