Where does “datu” come from?

datu (Higaonon) comes from Proto-Philippine *datu, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian datu — king.

datu (Higaonon): king

Definitions

  1. king

Ancestry of “datu”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-Philippine*datu—
2Proto-Malayo-Polynesiandatuking
Every word from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian datu →Every word from Proto-Philippine *datu →
datu — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer