Where does “kabalian og hagdan” come from?

kabalian og hagdan (Cebuano) comes from Tagalog hagdan, from Proto-Philippine *haʀdan, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *haʀəzan — ladder.

kabalian og hagdan (Cebuano): to be highly elitist, snobbish, or aloof; to look down on or refuse to associate with people deemed inferior. This idiom may have originally been refering to a woman who is difficult to please, particularly in the context of rejecting romantic suitors

Definitions

  1. to be highly elitist, snobbish, or aloof; to look down on or refuse to associate with people deemed inferior. This idiom may have originally been refering to a woman who is difficult to please, particularly in the context of rejecting romantic suitors

Ancestry of “kabalian og hagdan”, step by step

kabalian og hagdan traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Tagalog hagdan

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Tagaloghagdanstairs
2Proto-Philippine*haʀdanladder
3Proto-Malayo-Polynesian*haʀəzanladder

via Cebuano og

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1CebuanoogIndefinite article, used as object marker for...
Every word from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *haʀəzan
kabalian og hagdan — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer