Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “cockatoo” come from?

Cockatoo comes from Dutch kaketoe, from Indonesian kakatua, from Malay tuha, ultimately from Proto-Austronesian kaka, a word for parrot.

cockatoo (English): A bird of the family Cacatuidae with a curved...

Definitions

  1. A bird of the family Cacatuidae with a curved...

Ancestry of “cockatoo”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Dutchkaketoecockatoo, parrot of the family Cacatuidae
2Malaykakaktuacockatoo; pincers
3Malaytuaold; ripe
4Classical Malaytuaold; ripe
5MalaytuhaObsolete form of tua
6Proto-Malayictuha—
7Proto-Malayo-Chamictuha—
8Proto-Malayo-Sumbawantuha—
9Proto-Malayo-Polynesian(ma-)tuqahold
10Proto-Austronesian(ma-)tuqaSold

Words derived from “cockatoo”

  • κακατούα
Every word from Proto-Austronesian (ma-)tuqaS →