Where does “Kota Kinabalu” come from?
Kota Kinabalu (Malay) comes from Malay kota, from Classical Malay kota, from Tamil கோட்டம், from Tamil கோடு, from Old Tamil 𑀓𑁄𑀝𑀼, from Proto-Dravidian *kōṭu.
Ancestry of “Kota Kinabalu”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Malay | kota | city |
| 2 | Classical Malay | kota | city |
| 3 | Tamil | கோட்டம் | division; city, town; place; crookedness |
| 4 | Tamil | கோடு | — |
| 5 | Old Tamil | 𑀓𑁄𑀝𑀼 | — |
| 6 | Proto-Dravidian | *kōṭu | — |
Words derived from “Kota Kinabalu”