ˌEast ˈIndies
A geographical term, orig. including Hindustan, Further India, and the islands beyond. Opposed to the West Indies or Central American islands, and now usu. restricted to the Malay archipelago.
| 1598 Shakes. Merry W. i. iii. 79 They shall be my East and West Indies, and I will trade to them both. a 1667 Cowley Mistr. (1710) I. 82 Mine her fair East-Indies were above. 1837 Penny Cycl. IX. 252 The East Indies include also the islands of the Indian Ocean. |