Where does “tuli” come from?
tuli (Indonesian) comes from Malay tuli, from Proto-Malayic tuli, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian tuli, from Proto-Austronesian Culi, from English coolie, from Hindi क़ुली, from Turkish köle, from Ottoman Turkish كوله — slave, servant.
tuli (Indonesian): deaf
Ancestry of “tuli”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Malay | tuli | deaf |
| 2 | Proto-Malayic | tuli | deaf |
| 3 | Proto-Malayo-Polynesian | tuli | deaf |
| 4 | Proto-Austronesian | Culi | deaf |
| 5 | English | coolie | An unskilled Asian worker, usually of Chinese or... |
| 6 | Hindi | क़ुली | porter; coolie; migrant labourer; slave; servant |
| 7 | Turkish | köle | slave |
| 8 | Ottoman Turkish | كوله | — |
| 9 | Proto-Turkic | kȫle | slave, servant |