Derived from Dhivehi

I REFER to the article, “How foreign is English?” by Dr Lim Chin Lam (MOE, Nov 11) and would like to bring your notice to a word from Dhivehi, which is the language of the Republic of Maldives. The word is “atoll”. Its general meaning is “a circular group of coral islands”. – Amyna

Thank you, Amyna, for sharing that the word “atoll” is derived from Dhivehi. And all the while, I was under the impression that the word had been derived from the language of one of the South Pacific islands! – Dr Lim Chin Lam