Where does “walay sapayan” come from?

walay sapayan (Cebuano) comes from Cebuano wala, from Austronesian *wada, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian wada — to be.

walay sapayan (Cebuano): you're welcome

Definitions

  1. you're welcome

Ancestry of “walay sapayan”, step by step

walay sapayan traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Cebuano wala

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Cebuanowalaindicates the nonexistence or absence of something; there is none, no one, nothing
2Austronesian*wada—
3Proto-Malayo-Polynesianwadato be

via Cebuano sapayan

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Cebuanosapayanto consider; to mind; to concern oneself with, to...
2Cebuanopasayana shrimp; a prawn
Every word from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian wada →Every word from Austronesian *wada →Every word from Cebuano wala →