Where does “wala” come from?

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

wala (Hiligaynon): left; no one, nothing; to lack

Definitions

  1. left; no one, nothing; to lack

Ancestry of “wala”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Austronesian*wada—
2Proto-Malayo-Polynesianwadato be
Every word from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian wada →Every word from Austronesian *wada →