Pencak Silat to Minangkabau word "silek". Due to Sumatran origin of the language, the Sumatran origin of the term is likely. Although the word "silat" is widely known throughout much of Southeast Asia, the term "pencak silat" is used mainly in Indonesia. Pencak silat was chosen in 1948 as a unifying term for the Indonesian fighting styles. It was a compound of the two most commonly used words for martial arts in Indonesia. "Pencak" was the term used in central and east Java, while "silat" was used in Sumatra, Malay Peninsula and Borneo. In Minang usage, pencak and silat are seen as
Silat at least the fifteenth century in Malacca. The preset forms of silambam are known as "silatguvarisai". The most popular theory in Malaysia is that it derives from "sekilat" meaning "as (fast as) lightning." Other theories derive silat from the Sanskrit "sīla" meaning morality or principle, or the Southern Chinese "saula" which means to push or perform with the hands. The Sanskrit theory is particularly popular in Thailand, as "sila" is an alternate form of the word silat in that country. Other similar-sounding words have been proposed, but are generally not considered by etymologists. One example is "si elat" which means