Where does “anak buah” come from?

anak buah (Malay) comes from Malay buah, from Malay nona, from Portuguese dona, from Old Portuguese dona, from Late Latin domna, from Latin domina, from Latin Dominus, from Latin domus — to build; to arrange, to put together.

anak buah (Malay): nephew; niece

Definitions

  1. nephew; niece

Ancestry of “anak buah”, step by step

anak buah traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Malay buah

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Malaybuahfruit
2Malaynonamiss, lady (young unmarried woman)
3Portuguesedonafemale equivalent of dono; A title of address to...
4Old Portuguesedona
5Late Latindomnalady, mistress
6Latindominalady or mistress of the house
7LatinDominusthe Lord; Lord; The Lord
8Latindomushouse, home; any building or abode; native place,...
9Proto-Italicdomoshouse, home
10Proto-Indo-Europeandṓmhome; house
11Proto-Indo-Europeandem-to build; to arrange, to put together

via Malay anak

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Malayanakchild
2MalayانقJawi spelling of anak
3Proto-Malayicanakchild
4Proto-Malayo-Polynesiananakchild
5Proto-AustronesianaNakchild
Every word from Proto-Indo-European dem-