Etymology thumbnail|left|The rhinoceros hornbill is the state bird of Sarawak.|alt=A black bird with white underbelly, white beak and red-orange horn perching on a branch The generally-accepted explanation of the state's name is that it is derived from the Sarawak Malay word Serawak or Cerava by Portuguese cartographers in the 16th century, which means antimony. A popular alternative explanation is that it is a contraction of the four Malay words purportedly uttered by Pangeran Muda Hashim (uncle to the Sultan of Brunei), "Saya serah pada awak" (I surrender it to you), when he gave Sarawak to James Brooke, an English explorer, in 1841. However, the latter explanation is incorrect: the territory had been named Sarawak before the arrival of James Brooke, and the word awak was not in the vocabulary of Sarawak Malay before the formation of Malaysia.
Etymology thumbnail|left|The rhinoceros hornbill is the state bird of Sarawak|alt=A black bird with white underbelly white beak and red-orange horn perching on a branch The generally-accepted explanation of the state's name is that it is derived from the Sarawak Malay word Serawak or Cerava by Portuguese cartographers in the 16th century which means antimony A popular alternative explanation is that it is a contraction of the four Malay words purportedly uttered by Pangeran Muda Hashim (uncle to the Sultan of Brunei) "Saya serah pada awak" (I surrender it to you) when he gave Sarawak to James Brooke an English explorer in 1841 However the latter explanation is incorrect the territory had been named Sarawak before the arrival of James Brooke and the word awak was not in the vocabulary of Sarawak Malay before the formation of Malaysia