Note 48 — Chapter VII
Reading edition
This island is of an elliptical form, and is said to be about twenty-seven miles in its greatest length, and containing an estimated area of about two hundred and seventy square miles. The latitude of Singapore flag-staff is in 1° 17′ 22″ north, and longitude 103° 51′ 45″ east.
Singapoor is derived from Sing-gah, signifying to call or touch at, bait, stop by the way, and Poor, a village, (generally fortified,) a town, &c. (Marsden’s Malay Dictionary.) It is considered at this island, or rather at this part of the island where the town is now situated, (the name, however, has been given by Europeans to the whole island,) there was formerly a village, inhabited principally by fishermen. The Malays, who traded from the eastward to Malacca, and other of the ports to the westward, touched at this place. Singa also signifies a lion, (known by name only in the Malay countries,) from which the name of the island has been (no doubt erroneously) supposed to be derived.