Where does “isurat” come from?

isurat (Bikol Central) comes from Bikol Central surat, from Malay surat, from Proto-Malayic surat, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *suʀat.

Ancestry of “isurat”, step by step

isurat traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Bikol Central surat

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Bikol Centralsurat
2Malaysuratdocument; letter; inscription
3Proto-Malayicsurat
4Proto-Malayo-Polynesian*suʀat

via Bikol Central i

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Bikol Centrali
Every word from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *suʀat