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 →Every word from Proto-Malayic surat →Every word from Malay surat →